STRQ: Origins to End
by sireneris
Summary: Team STRQ: The coolest team to ever come out of Beacon. From their beginnings at Beacon to the time of their demise, and the adventures and misadventures in between. Raven-centric, because she's my favorite and also because her issues were the main catalyst to the team breaking up. M for language and violence.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: A Wedding

Champagne in her hand, Raven glided across the floor. Her long, voluminous hair was tied up in a fancy bun, and she wore a shimmering silver dress. Coupled with the heels, it was attire Raven normally would have scoffed at. However, it was a wedding reception, notably _her_ wedding reception, so she had obliged Summer, who had been all too eager to play dress up.

Raven spotted Taiyang across the dance hall. He was chatting with James Ironwood, the two of them stuffing their faces with cake. She smirked.

"Raven, there's cookies!" Summer came up beside her, in her hands a plate stacked high with chocolate chip cookies. Raven took one and nibbled on it. Summer looked stunning as well, wearing a red gown and decorating her shoulder-length hair with gemstone clips. The two of them took seats at a nearby table and watched friends dancing and drinking.

"It's very lively," Raven admitted, with a small sigh. "How long do you think this is bound to go on for?"

Summer rolled her eyes with a smile. She was used to Raven's impatience with celebrations by now, but she was going to ensure Raven enjoyed her wedding to the fullest. "Tai booked the venue until three in the morning!" she said.

"Great, that's two more hours."

"Come on Raven, even Qrow is out there embarrassing himself." The two women watched the younger Branwen twin stumbling around the dance floor, visibly intoxicated. Raven saw Glynda Goodwitch look on with disapproval and smiled a little.

"When does he not embarrass himself?"

"Mm. Point taken," Summer conceded. "Hey, Tai! Have a cookie!" Summer said as Tai approached. She offered him the plate and he took one eagerly.

"Come on, Raven, let's dance!"

Raven looked up at him, her face dull. "We already did that," she said.

"Yes, but it's our wedding. We do it again and again until they kick us out."

"But it's my wedding. I should get to decide I don't want to."

"Nope. My wedding too. And I _insist._ "

"Go on," encouraged Summer, and begrudgingly, Raven got to her feet. Taiyang stuffed the rest of his cookie in his mouth and took Raven by the hand to lead her to the dance floor.

An hour later, Raven stood on the balcony looking over the venue's beautiful gardens. They glowed silver in the moonlight. She shivered against an autumn chill, but decided against going back inside.

Raven had long since stopped dancing. She made Summer take her spot, and as far as she knew, Summer and Tai were still at it. She could hear the sounds of the band from inside. She had continued to drink, but instead of lightening her heart, the intoxication made it heavier.

She felt a jacket fall over her shoulders. She knew the presence behind her without sight or sound. "How nice of you," she said.

"S'not mine," her twin replied. "I took it from the back of a random chair."

"Like a true bandit," she said. Qrow passed her another glass of wine.

"Cheers!" he said, her voice slurring and falsely cheery. He slumped into a chair beside where she was standing, sighing with his distinctive gruff tone.

"Cheers," she replied, unconvinced.

"Come on, Raven, I know being a wet blanket is kind of your thing, but it's your wedding day." Qrow laughed a little at his own joke.

"I'm not a wet blanket, you lush." She turned to lean back on the balcony rail, now facing her brother. "And I am pleased…"

"It's just…" he mocked her, anticipating her next words.

"Shut up. It's just that this world is no place for a _family_ , for a happy home life."

Qrow looked up at her, eyes serious. "Wait. Are you pregnant? I'm taking the wine back."

"No! I'm not… _now,_ but I'm sure Taiyang wants a child. Family is important to him. And it's not that the idea isn't nice… it's just that I can't bear to…." She trailed off. "It would just be too troublesome."

"Yes, lots of diapers."

Raven's voice came out in a harsh whisper. "Lots of Grimm. And I'm sure _she_ hasn't forgotten me."

"Banya?"

"Salem." She shook her head. "Fucking Oz."

"Gotta stop pissing people off, sis," Qrow teased.

Raven's reply was cut off as the door opened. It was Summer. Her cheeks were flushed, and she had removed her heels. She stood in her bare feet breathing in the cool night air. "You can't ditch me like that, I've got _blisters!_ " she said, angrily punching Raven in the arm. "And Tai's senile nan just congratulated me on my marriage with a sloppy wet kiss!" She punched again, then doled one out to Qrow, for laughing at her.

"He's _your_ partner," was Raven's reply.

"Heyyyy, team's all here!" Tai stumbled out to join his teammates, obviously just as drunk as the twins. His affect was unchanged, and he was just as gregarious as ever.

"Is it over?" Raven asked. "I'm exhausted."

"Come on, Raven, tonight is our special night!" Taiyang began to hum and sat back into the chair beside Qrow.

"Gross," said Qrow. "Also, you should know by now she's always like this. Good job marrying her and listening to her complain forever."

Raven sat down on Taiyang's lap, leaning her face into his shoulder. "Sleepy."

"I know, I know. Just bear it a little longer."

Summer took the last empty chair, and they all leaned back to watch the stars. Although it was only a couple months, their time at Beacon seemed years past. They were adults now. Proper Huntsmen and Huntresses. Somehow Raven had thought they'd feel _different_ somehow. More confident or older. Now, with things to protect, she felt more vulnerable than ever.

She felt Tai kiss the top of her head and let herself drift off and relax into a comfortable sleep for just one night.

Notes: Welcome to my newest story! I'll try to update semi-regularly. The timeline is going to jump around a little, but I'll try to make it easy to follow.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Beacon

"I can't believe it! Beacon!" Tai shouted and jumped from the airship onto the walkway, punching his fists into the air. A shy girl smiled bemusedly at his excited behavior. "Hey! New friend!"

She blushed and backed up a step or two, unsure of this new development. She hadn't planned for him to speak to her. Beacon was already overwhelming. "Hi," she said, her voice nearly a croak.

"I'm Taiyang Xiao Long. Master of close quarters combat," he said with a wink. "Nice to meet you."

"Uh. Oh! I'm Summer Rose, somewhat proficient in long-range combat."

Taiyang smiled at her awkward introduction. "Let's find this assembly we're supposed to get to together. And I'd love to hear about your weapon," he added, eyeing the case on her back.

"Oh! Um, certainly."

* * *

"I can't believe it. Beacon." Qrow rolled his eyes as he spoke, noticing the school coming into view. All along the airship, students had their faces pressed to the window, trying to get their first look at Vale.

Raven sat silently beside him, watching the students like a cat stalks a mouse.

"You need to lighten up a bit. They'll never let us stay if you look that suspicious," he said.

"I suppose you're right. I've also noticed that our attire is somewhat different from everyone elses."

Qrow looked at the others' clothes and decided his sister was right. While there seemed to be no common trends among the clothes everyone wore, it was clear that they did not look like the clothes the twins were wearing. "Your hair is a little off too, sis."

She clicked her tongue and ran her fingers through her wild hair. "That's just too bad, because I'm not changing it."

"More like you don't know how," Qrow teased. He spoke lightly, but inside he was worried. What if they really didn't blend in with the others? What if other students found out they were from a bandit tribe that stole from innocent people and had been known to kill Huntsmen? What if Raven and him ended up on seperate teams? Although he'd never admit it to his sister, he was used to relying on her and having her rely on him. It was a useful skill they'd developed over years of doing everything together, including facing dangerous Grimm in Anima.

Raven sighed, steeling herself as the airship landed. "We're doing our duty," she said, for what seemed to Qrow like the thousandth time.

"Mhm, yep, that's us, dutiful Branwen twins."

Raven cracked a smile at that comment at least. "Let's go."

* * *

"What the-" Taiyang stared as a student on the other end of the cliff was launched into the Emerald Forest.

"Well, this is a bizarre way to start the year," said a boy next to him. He was tall and slim, with black hair and red eyes. Taiyang was always friendly, but he found the boy a bit unsettling. More and more students were flying into the forest.

"Is that how they do things here?" asked a girl standing beside the boy. "Seems a little… savage." The boy laughed at her teasing, and Taiyang couldn't help but notice her uncanny resemblance to the boy. He didn't have much time to contemplate, though, as soon he too was sent flying over the treetops.

"Landing strategy, landing strategy, ahh-ha!" Taiyang swung his arms forward, caught his kama around a tree branch, swung himself around, and jumped down into a landing. "Wooo!"

He jogged forward a bit, eager to see if anyone was around. Although many people looked nervous about the method for finding partners, Taiyang was excited. He was hoping to run into someone as soon as possible. He stopped running and remained silent as he heard a low growl in the not-so-distant range. _Right,_ he thought, _Grimm live here. I need to hunt them._

He looked over the kama, ensuring that they were not damaged during his landing. Ensuring that everything was well, he moved forward. "To the north side of the forest…" he mumbled. "Now how to I figure out which way I'm facing…."

A few moments later, he saw it. An Ursa, large and armored, appeared before him. "Seriously?" The Grimm growled. "Ok, fine!" leaping forward, Taiyang swiped at the Grimm with his kama. He landed and turned for another attack, this time using his fists and channeling his semblance to deliver a more powerful punch. Swiftly, he turned around to attack again, when he noticed an arrow emerging from the Ursa's head. Seeing an opportunity, he dug his blades into the vulnerable underbelly of the Ursa. One more arrow to the head, and it was ashes.

"Thanks for the help?" he asked to the forest. There was no one in sight.

"Taiyang Xiao Long," a voice said, stepping forward. "I guess you're my partner."

"Summer Rose! Those are your arrows?" Summer nodded. She retrieved them from the area the Ursa had been. "Let's get to that temple!" he said.

They walked in silence for a bit, until Taiyang got bored. "So, what's your semblance?"

"My semblance?"

"Yeah, don't you have one?"

"Of course I do! My semblance allows me to change perceptions. I can disguise myself and others from both humans and Grimm. It's not 100% effective, but I'm getting close."

Taiyang smiled to himself. It was obvious that Summer was much better at talking about fighting and weapons than she was at personal matters. "Well you were right about being a competent long-range fighter," he said.

"Ah. Thank you. You finished it off, though. What is your semblance?"

Summer looked up in confusion as she felt herself getting heavier. "Are you… are you doing that?" she asked. She nearly had to kneel the weight was so much. Then, it was gone.

"Gravity. I can make an object experience more gravity. And, well, I can do it to myself to make my hits harder if I'm attacking from above."

"That's really neat! It's so interesting to learn about the wide variety of semblances."

"Hey, I think that's the temple up there!"

* * *

Raven did not have a landing strategy. Raven was flying through the air at breakneck speed, and she did not have a landing strategy. Oh, how she hated feeling helpless. She pulled out her sword. She was still working on her semblance, so she hoped this worked. Slicing through the air, she opened a portal which she fell into.

She came out the other end on the ground, somewhat off balance, but alive. "Excellent. I was relying on you landing before I did."

"Does this make you my partner?" Qrow asked.

"Oh. I guess it does."

"Same as always, then."

"Same as always."

Notes: two main things. One: I am not very creative with weapons and semblances, and Summer and Taiyang's are unknown, at least so far, so I did my best. I think they're pretty neat, at least. Two: I know most fics on this topic have TaixRaven, SummerxQrow partners, but I decided to spice it up. I like the dynamic with the pairs the way I have them, and also I think this way contributes more to the internal strife the team was hinted to have. Anyways, thanks for reading :)


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 - Quest

Raven stood up and brushed herself off. "I really need to work on my semblance."

Qrow smirked. "A hole that always brings you back to your brother, how sweet."

"It's useful! More useful than bad luck!" Raven tripped over a tree root, stumbling to stay upright.

"I don't know," Qrow teased, "Mine seems to be pretty useful."

"I'm sure mine's not just a portal to you. I just haven't figured out how it works is all." For once, Qrow didn't have a quick quip in return. Perhaps he could empathize with having a frustrating semblance. They walked on in silence for a while.

Raven pondered the portals. She could open one to bring her to Qrow. It first happened long ago, but she'd only been able to produce it in times of great stress. She remembered being young, maybe eight years old, pressed up against the wall of an alley by some thugs she encountered while roaming a nearby village, stealing food. She had a small dagger with her, but she knew she couldn't take all three men. "What's a girl worth these days, anyways?" one had asked.

"Couple hundred, give or take. Depends how old, and how pretty." He had leaned forward, inspecting her, and it was then she thrust the dagger out. It was meant to be a gesture to get him to step backward, but instead it was her who moved aside as a portal appeared. All four of them gazed at it, and before they came to their senses, Raven jumped through. Instinctively, she knew it was her only option for escape, even if she didn't know where it would lead.

She popped out in a tent in the tribe's camp, straight beside her brother's bed. He had been sitting on the bed, sorting through some old pilfered hardware, and jumped when she landed. "What the hell!?" She smiled at him, and shrugged in mock apology.

"This kind of feels like being back with the tribe, said Qrow in the present, snapping her from her reverie. "Marching through the forest, going to retrieve something, running into Grimm…"

"We haven't seen any yet, don't tempt fate," said Raven. "I think I see the trees breaking ahead, maybe we're close to the relics."

It was too late. Whether it was Qrow's semblance, a complete coincidence, or an act of God, Grimm appeared before them. Several Beowolves approached from the front, with a Death Stalker blocking their escape behind them. "Aw crap," said Qrow, more defeated by his luck than intimidated by the beasts. "Ready?" he asked, unfolding his scythe.

"Always," replied Raven, unsheathing her sword, which glowed red this time.

They moved swiftly and completely in sync, their partnership crafted from blood and years of doing everything together. Raven could tell from a glance which direction Qrow was going to move in, or which way he wanted to split the enemies. He could look at her and know what kind of dual attack she wanted to throw. He indicated that she should begin with the Death Stalker, and he would cut down some of the Beowolves.

Raven got to work. She rarely encountered Death Stalkers in Anima, so she wasn't sure of the best approach. She knew the tail was a no-go, and the claws were heavily armed. She decided the best course of action would be to go after the legs and try to get to the thing's back or underbelly. She moved forward, dodging back and forth to avoid swipes from the Grimm's surprisingly swift claws. She jumped up, launching herself off the creature's head, and swiped down and to the side, detaching one of its claws.

The creature's tail came down towards her, golden and deadly. She had to roll out of the way. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Qrow behead a Beowolf. Refusing to be outdone by her brother, she got to her feet. _One more claw to go._ She moved in closer, carefully circling around the radius of the irritated Grimm's reach. It moved first, stabbing it's venomous tail down inches to her side. The side of the tail pummeled into her, but she was spared the poison. Swallowing the pain and making her move, Raven swung to detach the tip of the tail that was now embedded in the hard ground, quickly turned, and swung up, opening the creature's underbelly.

It was flailing now, moving about wildly and screeching in rage. She knew she was close. Another glance to Qrow. _Move back_ he was telling her. _My semblance is about to act up._ She did has he wished, putting the Death Stalker between them. A tree branch fell with deadly force, crushing the creature and rendering it into black soot and gook. There were two Beowolves left. Qrow seemed to have a handle on them, but she decided to help him out. Just to be nice.

They finished quickly, and walked out of the hammock with nothing but minor scratches and bruises. Although she had been slammed by the tail of the Grimm scorpion, Raven's aura protected her almost completely. Qrow folded up his scythe and caught up to her. "I'm so glad I added that gun function," he said. "Dual-weapons are all the rage."

"What do you know about what's all the rage?" she teased. She could firmly say that she knew nothing about what was trendy or popular.

"I read. I observe. I talk to other people."

"Hmph."

Raven's prediction had been correct, and the forest opened up to a grassy field which was home to strange ruins. She walked closer, beside her brother, and they saw that most of the relics had been taken. Laying on concrete slabs were a small compass, and a golden, six-pointed object, that reminded Raven of one of the pieces scooped up when playing jacks.

"Hmm," said Qrow, pretending to speculate seriously. "Do we take the one that may have good navigation value, or the one that's like a shiny pointy toy?"

Raven picked up the golden jack, slipping it in her pocket.

"What's this?" asked Qrow, a grin on his face. "My wise, methodical sister chose the useless object?"

Raven felt her cheeks grow a shade redder, but stood her ground. "It's pretty," she said quietly.

"Whatever, Rae, let's head back. Judging by what's left we've somehow fallen behind."

The sun was growing lower over the horizon. Raven followed her brother as he walked in the direction of the tall cliffs where they had been launched, hours ago. The cliffs jutted over the emerald sea of trees, beckoning them back.

After some time had passed, Raven saw some people ahead, fighting a herd of Borbatusks. "Do we go around?" she asked.

"Come on, let's slay them!"

"Or we could just leave it to the people already fighting," Raven suggested.

"Come on, quit being antisocial!" Qrow marched off towards the action, leaving Raven little choice but to follow. She marveled at how they had grown up in exactly the same environment, sharing nearly everything, but her brother had turned out so much better at social situations.

She recognized a couple of the four students they approached. One was the blonde from the launch pads. He gave off a cocky vibe and donned what looked to be mini-scythes in his hands. She watched as one shot what looked to be a flaming ball of dust. _Of course,_ she thought, _it has to be dual purpose, and there has to be fire._

She saw another girl she didn't recognize a bit further off, shooting at the Grimm with a longbow. One Borbatusk got too close and she snapped the bow up into a spear. _Of course…_ Raven marveled again. There was a boy she recognized from the airship, buzzing about here and there with some sort of torch and flamethrower combination. Lastly there was a blonde witch Raven had noticed at one of the assemblies. She was wearing a purple cape and donned… a _riding crop_ that she was using to cast spells. _Of fucking course._

Raven pulled out her sword and joined the melee.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 - The Team

Raven and Qrow joined the students they found for the rest of the walk back. Even Raven had to admit that it was much more efficient to slay Grimm with six, rather than one. They had all introduced themselves, and while Qrow was talking to Taiyang and Summer, and Peter and Glynda were arguing about something at high speeds (with Glynda getting more and more frustrated), Raven followed along, feeling distinctly out of place.

She told herself that she was doing the right thing, by staying vigilant and making sure the group didn't get into trouble. But the others were all more than capable. Even with their distracting conversations, they were constantly looking out for signs of danger. No, Raven realized that the more honest explanation was that she just wasn't any good at making friends.

She watched Qrow, throwing his head back in laughter at something Summer said, and swatting at Taiyang playfully. He was so carefree and adaptable. Raven felt rigid, and a little nervous. She watched suspiciously as Summer detached herself from the two boys to sidle towards her, at the rear of the group.

"Hi!" said Summer, a perky, but somewhat shy greeting. She was wearing a cape with the hood pulled up over her head. "Your brother was telling me you picked one of these, too?" She reached into her pocket and pulled out a gleaming gold object with six small arms. Jacks.

"Oh, yeah." Raven couldn't explain why she felt herself blushing. "By the time we got there, there was only two kinds left."

"Hmph!" Summer said, grinning. "Taiyang bet me you would ignore me if I came to talk to you."

"I bet my brother agreed."

Now it was Summer's turn to blush. She wasn't denying it. "It's really cool that you have a twin, though," she said.

"Sometimes," Raven conceded.

Summer walked on beside her, her presence relaxed. Raven noticed it was much different from the focused intensity she had been projecting fifteen minutes ago, crouched with her longbow. "I don't know anyone here, but so far, it's going better than I could have hoped."

Raven laughed, a little derisively. "You mean getting launched into a forest, fighting Grimm, and taking the longest hike ever to get back?"

Summer giggled. "Well, not that specifically. More like… making new friends who share the same goals."

Raven almost gagged from the uncensored genuine words coming from this girl's mouth. _Sharing the same goals…._

"Hey!" Taiyang called from up ahead. "I see the finish!" Raven broke into a run, along with everyone else.

Qrow watched team BRGT walk off the stage to great applause. "Glynda's not gonna be happy about Barty being the leader," he said to Raven.

"Who cares," she said, sounding bored.

Ozpin's voice echoed through the hall. "Summer Rose, Taiyang Xiao Long, Raven Branwen, Qrow Branwen, you picked up the golden jacks. You will be Team STRQ, led by Summer Rose."

The four of them squinted as a spotlight shone down on them. "Good grief," he heard Raven mutter, under her breath.

"Come on, sis, smile for the cameras!" he teased. He was rewarded by her stomping on his foot. Hard.

After the ceremony was over, the four of them wound their way through the campus to the dormitories, eventually finding their own. It was on an upper floor, and there was no elevator. They were out of breath when they found the door.

"Team STRQ" was written on a sign taped to the door. Summer tried the key in the door, and opened it to reveal a rather spacious room. Their luggage had been deposited in a great heap in the center.

"Ooh, look at that view!" cooed Summer, kneeling up on the window ledge.

"Hey, the beds aren't so bad, either," Taiyang said, throwing himself onto the closest one. Raven and Qrow remained standing in the doorway, rather stiffly. Raven had to take back some of what she had thought before. Qrow was adaptable, but ultimately he was pretending. Pretending to understand the cultural references and way of life in Vale. Truly, they were both imposters, and not very good at hiding it.

It was Raven who moved first, not because she was more comfortable, but because she didn't want to draw attention to them. But it was already too late.

"What's up with you two?" Taiyang asked. He was laying back on the bed, his shoes kicked off and his arms tucked behind his head. Raven couldn't help but think he was in an incredibly vulnerable position.

"Well, where we came from, living spaces weren't like this," Qrow said, amicably and ambiguously.

Summer cocked her head, considering this. To Raven she looked like a curious puppy. _Her fearless leader._ She almost snorted. "Which beds would you like?" asked Summer. "I figure we could either pair off as partners, or the girls could take one side and the guys the other."

"What if I want to be with Raven?" asked Taiyang.

"No." said the twins together.

"Bad joke," he muttered. _I wouldn't actually want to be near Raven,_ was his obvious implication.

"Let's do it the second way. I'll take the bed on the far side here," Qrow said, moving past Taiyang.

Raven almost opened her mouth in protest, but she bit her tongue. "Would you like one towards the middle, or by the wall?" asked Summer.

"Wall," said Raven, and she could hear Qrow answering for her from across the room as well. Neither Branwen would take a middle bed between a large window and the door.

"Fine by me."

They all set to unpacking. The room was centered around the large window, which overlooked one of the grassy lawns on Beacon's campus. The tower was straight ahead as well. There were two bookshelves on either side of the window, and then two beds on the right, and two on the left. Across from the beds, on the same wall as the door, were four desks with chairs. Between the beds were chests of drawers and there was a small closet for things that needed to be hung, beside Raven's bed. Near Qrow's bed was a doorway to a large, but private bathroom. It was simple, but it was complete, and it was going to be their home for some time.

Raven sorted through her things quickly. She hadn't had much to bring. The transient nature of her upbringing had made it difficult to accumulate many possessions. Her life was mostly find and discard, find and discard. She did, however, have a few personal items.

She put a couple books on the bookshelf she would share with Summer. Summer had already filled half of it with her own books. She put a small, carved box on top of her dresser, and her hairbrush beside it. She put her clothes in three of the five drawers. They weren't even half filled. She put her toothbrush in the bathroom. She put her school things (newly purchased) at the desk that was across from the one Qrow had claimed. She took her newly issued school uniform items and hung them in the closet - three skirts, five shirts, a tie, two sweaters. She sat back on her bed, watching Summer work.

Summer opened a new suitcase and pulled out a stuffed dog. She hugged it tenderly and put it near her pillow. _Fearless. Leader._ Raven sighed. Everyone had their attachments, she supposed. Like those little rabbits she used to care for…

Summer then unpacked framed photos which she put up on her dresser, a poster of wildflowers and their names and properties, which she hung beside her desk, and dozens of pairs of fluffy, cozy socks. She also took out a hand-painted mug, what looked to be a hand-knit sweater, and a rather extensive toolkit. Raven had to laugh at how little the last item went with the rest.

While her brother had unpacked in much the same fashion she did, Taiyang seemed to have yet another style. He shoved his clothes in the dresser, unpacked a large map of Remnant, which his pinned over his bed, and unpacked plenty of games, gadgets, cards, and what looked to be prank items. This was shaping up to be an interesting year.

"Want to get some dinner?" asked Summer. "I'm starving."

They all agreed and walked downstairs and out into the cool evening to the dining hall. Raven had to admire Summer's tact, at least. Summer hadn't pried into the questions Raven knew the girl must have - why Raven and Qrow had so few possessions, what their living spaces had been like, why they came from Anima to study here, and so on.

They all got dinner, and the boys seemed to eat and eat. Raven picked a little at her food, unsure of the unfamiliar ingredients and cooking methods. By unfamiliar cooking methods, she meant anything that wasn't grilled or stewed. Summer had a small dinner but went back for two large chocolate chip cookies and a cool glass of milk.

It was her first _real_ night at Beacon, and the first night with her team. Raven almost enjoyed herself. It wasn't until they were heading back to the room, full and merry, that it happened. There was something about the way the moon hit the ground, or something about the raucous noise that was coming from a nearby corridor, but Raven began to tremble. She saw Anje, clear as day, her neck cleaved open. She saw her rabbits, her sweet, fluffy rabbits, disemboweled and dead as could be. She saw fire, burning over the rooftops, and she knew who had done this. Rogue, awful, corrupt _Huntsmen._

She almost screamed. "Qrow."

"Raven, come on now, what's going on?" her brother asked.

"You look pale, are you alright?" This was Summer. Taiyang was looking on over Summer's shoulder, confused and concerned.

Raven realized she was sweating. "I'm sorry, I'm fine. I think I ate something weird."

The others begrudgingly accepted her explanation, but Qrow looked at her skeptically. "What?" he asked quietly. They began walking again.

"I- I…" she trailed off. She couldn't say it aloud. Not right then.


	5. Chapter 5

_Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;_

 _Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,_

 _The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere_

 _The ceremony of innocence is drowned;_

-William Butler Yeats, The Second Coming

Chapter 5: Things Fall Apart

Qrow leaned back, stretching out his back, which was sore from hours spent leaning over this dingy bar. It was the worst type of night, the kind where forgotten memories were dragged out of the inky blackness of amnesia… or selective amnesia, to tug at his thoughts with _if onlys_ and _what-might-have-beens._

The worst part was that these weren't terrible memories. They weren't suffering or misfortune. They were even worse, joyful, happy times gone by, never to return. He reached his hand up lazily, in a practiced motion, signaling to the bartender he was due for another. The bartender looked skeptical, but poured the drink regardless. Tonight, Qrow was already set on a path of no return. He would regret it tomorrow certainly, but for now, he thought of his favorite years, and the coolest team to ever come out of Beacon.

It was true, he had begun with happy memories. Wearing that damn skirt (which was definitely not a kilt) to class on the first day, that time Summer knocked out that guy who bullied Barty, the day that Tai won a pie-eating contest, and the sight of the rabbit Raven adopted bounding around the room. But it was inevitable that they would grow, in unprecedented ways, both towards and apart from one another.

The First Schism, as Qrow had named it, occured in their second year. He tipped back the amber liquor. _It was always his damn sister._ He often wondered if their problems would have been averted had they been on seperate teams. Possibly, but likely not. The cogs of fate had a way of turning, as Ozpin would say, and between Qrow's bad luck and Raven's proclivity for dramatic situations, something similar would have happened. Perhaps it was a cruel sort of irony, making her the center of these emotional conflicts, when all she wanted was to be emotionless and cold. She hardened herself like a weapon, but despised Ozpin for treating her like one. What a diva.

Qrow had to laugh to himself. If Summer saw him like this, what would she think? He figured that first she'd smack the drink from his hand (good-naturedly, of course) and then she'd laugh. " _You've always been brooding,"_ she'd say, " _But I've never seen you get this philosophical. Who would have thought there was all this going on in your head?"_

 _Certainly not me,_ thought Qrow. Sure, he had always been more serious than Tai, and he always was fairly good at observing others, but it wasn't until recently that he'd had so much damn _time_ to sit and reflect on everything.

In any case, as much as he knew reliving these memories would not change the tragic outcomes, and as much as he knew he'd only feel shittier at the end, it was like a drug. He couldn't stop. In two out of three cases, it was the only connection he had left to his teammates, unless you counted a certain bird's sporadic habit of dropping in.

He sunk back into his daydreams, his brain foggy with the daze of ethanol. He had been somewhere around the beginning of their second year when he had last come up for air.

Their second year had begun smoothly. Their clashing personalities had mostly been sorted out by the end of their first year, and hours and hours of training had them working as a unit, rather than four individuals or two pairs. There was still work to do, but it was coming along nicely. And Team STRQ had built somewhat of a reputation around the school.

Qrow had been somewhat of a heartthrob, especially for the younger girls. (He was drunk enough now to acknowledge that without blushing, and along enough in his thoughts to not get teased). Tai, too, was popular, but he sabotaged himself with his constant tricks and pranks. Once he gave a girl chocolates, which she bit into to discover they were made with hot pepper oil. Qrow got a good laugh out of her coming to him the next day at breakfast and giving him a good slap, at least.

Summer was top of the class in strategizing and history and all of those book subjects, and Raven frequently came out top of the class in combat, though Qrow wasn't far behind. It didn't hurt that Summer and Raven were some of the more attractive girls in the school (though despite how many guys spoke about Raven that way, he could never see it).

They were a mixture of strange factors that came together to make their team unique. Talented, somewhat intimidating, cohesive, addicted to chocolate chip cookies, full of bad puns, wearing strange clothes, twins from the badlands, the girl with the cape, a playful smile and blonde hair, winning their year in combat, and then the next class up. These glimpses of memories passed through Qrow's mind and he took them all in, unable to stop anything now.

What had really brought them closer was the training. Hours of long, hard work, trusting one another for protection, celebrating a team battle won, coming back to their room exhausted but together. By the end of his first year, Qrow really felt that he had a home, and a family. He knew Raven felt the same way, and he knew they shared a creeping worry that something was going to come along and mess it all up. It wouldn't be the first time for them.

It wasn't until their second year that things started to get somewhat complicated. It was easy to blame Tai, but that wouldn't truly be fair. In a way, Raven and Summer were equally at fault. Qrow shook his head, attracting the attention of a concerned waitress. It was no one's _fault,_ it was simply the consequence of having such a tight-knit team at a time when… when everyone was approaching adulthood.

For a while, Qrow thought things would never settle- or worse, they would settle and someone would be hurt. And for a while, things were left unsettled and feelings were hurt. Like unbalanced scales, their teamwork suffered for it, and they no longer were dominating in the classroom anymore. They were a hopeless picture of teenage angst: Tai, wracked with guilt and indecision; Summer, caring too much; Raven, pretending not to care at all; and Qrow, upset at the others, and perhaps a little left out.

Oh, their second year was tough. It wasn't until the end of the year - until their first mission with a real Huntsman - that their perspectives began to shift. That mission which turned into a demonstration of the scariest outcomes of rampant negative emotions and a lack of cohesion.

Qrow blinked open his eyes. He had been resting with his face in his hands, elbows on the bar. Blue and white spots flashed before his eyes. Without a word, the bartender poured him another glass.


	6. Chapter 6

Afoot and light-hearted I take to the open road,

Healthy, free, the world before me,

The long brown path before me leading wherever I choose.

-Walt Whitman, _Song of the Open Road_

Chapter 6: The Punishment

Taiyang came to Beacon from Vacuo. He said goodbye to his mother, who was in the kitchen cooking, and then stopped by his father's workshop in the village to say goodbye to him. Then, he walked on, bags on his back, towards the station. The sun was beating down on his broad, tan shoulders, and further bleaching his blonde hair.

For all his confidence, Tai had never left Vacuo. Hell, he'd barely ever left his village. But he was never one to shy away from adventure. And from his perspective, Beacon was about the best adventure he could hope for.

Although his father was a blacksmith, he did have some skills in swordplay. Perhaps this was the reason that when Taiyang begged him to attend combat school, Song acquiesced and enrolled his son at Moonbeam Academy. His class dwindled through the years, until there were only eight the year he graduated. Tai was the only one of them accepted to Beacon. He was breaking free.

Flying across the continent, he watched as the landscape grew ever greener. He passed small villages among desolate forests, smited buildings from Grimm attacks, large lakes and rivers, and took it all in, his face pressed to the windows. One day, he would wander these lands, a proper Huntsman going on all sorts of insane adventures. What an adrenaline rush.

Taiyang was surprised when he got to Beacon. The orientation and partner-finding activity had been nothing like he predicted, though he found that quite fun. He was glad he had been partnered with Summer, especially so after he met some of his other classmates. He was a little less enthusiastic when their team was rounded out by the dark brooding Branwen twins.

"I think there's some secret they're hiding from us," he said to Summer, one afternoon as they worked in the library.

"You've only known them a few weeks," she whispered back. "Of course they haven't told you everything. Have you shared your whole life with them?"

Tai shrugged. "Pretty much, there's not much to me. Raven always looks like she's up to something, and Qrow is easy to get along with, but I still think he's hiding something."

Summer didn't respond to this. She flipped a page in the book she was reading and let Tai continue.

"I mean… there's like _no one_ else here from Anima. There's nothing in Anima, from what I've heard. Where did they come from? A tiny village? A nomadic tribe? _Bandits?_ "

Summer cleared her throat. "I don't think bandits would come to Beacon," she said.

"I don't know. I wouldn't want to seriously be up against Raven. I think she'd kill me."

"I just might."

Taiyang blushed, his eyes bulging. "R-Raven, heyy!"

"Let me guess, you were _just_ talking about me?" She smiled indulgently, but it was laced with something malevolent.

Taiyang shrugged, too embarrassed, and too worried about digging his hole deeper, to speak.

"Well, I didn't come here to gossip. Have you two seen Qrow?"

Summer and Tai both shook their heads. _He's_ your _partner,_ Tai wanted to say.

"Hm. I have a feeling he's off getting drunk. But I don't want him to get caught and get our whole team in trouble. Will you help me look for him?"

To Taiyang, this sounded like the least fun thing he could do that afternoon. To Summer, who equally loved helping people and staying out of trouble, this sounded great. "Of course we will," she said. Tai knew she was trying to get on Raven's good side. Begrudgingly, he followed along.

True to prediction, Qrow was sitting in a dark corner of a village tavern. "What the hell, Qrow?" Raven asked, grabbing him by the collar to chastise him. He belched in her face. Blushing, he put his hands up begging for amnesty. "My semblance!" he slurred. Raven dropped him, and he landed hard on the wooden floor.

"Let's get out of here," Summer offered quietly.

"My, my, my." All four members of Team STRQ froze. "Who is this I see in the corner of the bar?"

"No one, sir!" Taiyang said, trying to sound courteous and jovial all at once. He failed miserably, and ended up just sounding guilty.

Professor Port moved closer, straightening his ascot. "I have half a mind to issue you all a detention!"

"No, no, no," Qrow slurred, pushing past his sister. "It's all me. They're all buzzkills so I had to drink alone!"

"Young man, I must inform you you're not in Anima anymore. You cannot do as you please and talk as you please to those in authority. Additionally, it is in blatant violation of the Beacon code of conduct for you to even be here, let alone be drinking alcohol. All of you will meet me in my office tomorrow evening at seven. I'll be sure to plan a special assignment for you."

Port turned and left, greeting an old, red-haired woman near the other end of the bar.

"Nice going, asshole," said Tai, more than a little annoyed.

Qrow smiled. "Aw Raven," he teased, "Don't act like you can't put back a few. I bet you can, too, huh Summer?" He leaned down to make up the height difference, and ended up bumping his nose into Summer's. She instantly blushed. "I, I don't drink," she said meekly. For some reason, the whole exchange made Tai rather upset.

"Let's just go," he said curtly.

"Yes, for once I agree with Tai," said Raven, pulling her brother along.

"Aw, Raven, you're no fun. Not like that time we went to Inverness and you-"

"That's enough!" said Raven, obviously unwilling to relive this memory.

The next night, the four of them trekked up to the tower where Professor Port's office was located. They all donned their combat clothes, and their weapons as well. Summer yawned as they climbed the stairs. "This is really cutting into my evening plans, Qrow," she giggled. Tai was annoyed at how well she was taking the fact that they were all being punished for something Qrow did.

"Didn't my miserable, hungover face in tactics this morning make up for that?" Qrow asked.

"It helped," said Raven.

Summer knocked on the heavy wooden door at the top of the stairs. "Come in!" called the professor from inside. The door creaked loudly as Summer opened it.

"Good evening, Professor," said Summer.

"Ah, Team STRQ. I have a delightful activity for you." Something in the way Port's eyes glinted as he said this made Taiyang uncomfortable. "Take a pair, put these on."

He handed the four students large, heavy rubber boots. After they'd shoved their feet into the ugly footwear, Port led them back down the stairs, through a small corridor, and into a tiny, rickety elevator.

"There's been some reports lately of disturbing noises under the school," Port said as they descended. "This has happened in the past. Generally it's a few small Grimm, relatively harmless but incredibly annoying."

"We're hunting Grimm under the school?" asked Raven, her voice low and unreadable.

"You are. Although the Grimm we have found in the past have been small and easy to take out, I urge you to be cautious and take no unnecessary risks. Take this as well." He handed Summer a lantern, which he then lit as she held it. The elevator came to a stop. "When you've finished, take this elevator back up to the sixth floor. And return my boots!"

Port rose in the elevator, leaving them alone in a tunnel under the school. It was extremely dark, aside from the small light of the lantern, and they were ankle deep in water. The corridor was a cylinder, about seven feet high and across. There was dripping noises as water fell slowly from stalactites. Distantly, they could hear something splashing in the water.

"How far down do you reckon we are?" asked Tai, his voice echoing eerily.

"Uncomfortably far," said Qrow, who despite his cool demeanor, sounded a bit uneasy.

"Let's get moving," said Raven, striding forward. The others followed along. The path branched again and again, and Tai began to lose his orientation. At some points, the splashing sound got louder, but then it faded again.

"I don't think my bow will be much help down here," said Summer. "Though when we get close, I can use my semblance to disguise our presence."

"My semblance won't be very effective here, but my weapon should do fine," said Tai. "Between the two of us, we have a complete fighter."

Summer laughed a little.

"Watch out for my Semblance," said Qrow. "Once we find the thing, I'll try to create some space so it doesn't affect you all."

Raven stopped short, the others crashing into her back. Instinctively, everyone was silent.

 _Holy shit,_ thought Tai in his head. Raven had spotted the Grimm first, and it was still rather far from them. Summer blew out the light in the lantern, so as to hide their presence further. Tai's eyes had adjusted to the dark, and while things were still blurry, he had enough visibility to fight.

The Grimm was enormous. It looked like a giant crocodile, with armored plates over much of its body, and a huge jaw filled with pointed, shining teeth.

"That's a Gharial," said Summer. "I've never seen one this big, though." The Gharial took up about half the width of the tunnel, and was about three feet tall, but the most disconcerting part was the length. Head, body, and tail stretched about twenty feet long.

"I don't know if this is extraordinary, or if this is Port's idea of small and harmless Grimm," said Tai, desperately trying for a little humor.

"It's spotted us. I'm activating my semblance now."

The Gharial charged forward, surprisingly swift despite its short legs. Water splashed up around it as it ran. Tai felt a strange sensation, and instinctively knew that the Grimm couldn't see him.

"It can still hear and smell you, though," whispered Summer. The twins move forward first, sword and scythe drawn. Qrow ran up the curved wall of the tunnel and used his speed to bring the scythe down into the Gharial's tail. Raven stabbed her sword down through the Grimm's snout, the fire dust in the blade causing a terrible stench of burning Grimm matter to fill the tunnel.

The blade in its face predictably pissed the Grimm off, and as it opened its jaw to roar, the blade stabbed through its upper palate, jaw and lower palate. It thrashed, forcing Raven to retreat as the yanked the sword out painfully.

Tai moved forward, the straps of his kama secured to his wrists. The small, curved blades allowed him to get up close, and he stood on the creature's back and reached down to swipe at its belly. He felt his aim strike true, and was immediately launched against the wall as the creature struggled. He slid down the wall, dazed, feeling his pants become damp with the water in the base of the tunnel. The creature's writhing was causing water to soak his shirt and hair as well.

"Summer, can you change it so that it can't hear us?" asked Qrow. "I don't think its sight is that good to begin with."

"Got it."

The change was immediate. The creature still snapped at them, but it couldn't tell where they were at so it bit blindly. Raven, Qrow, and Tai took turns doing the creature damage, but the tunnel was so confined they had to keep backing up to avoid being struck. Raven got a good swipe on the creature's underbelly, and black goo oozed into the water. The Gharial had obviously taken damage, but began running forward. Qrow, Raven, and Tai were all behind the creature, and Qrow ran forward to stop it.

"Stop!" said Summer, and Qrow obeyed. A moment later, three arrows were emerging from the Gharial: one in the snout, and one on each flank. It stopped moving. Tai moved forward cautiously and slit the creature's throat. It bucked once more, throwing him backwards, and then it was dead.

"Oh gross," Tai said, looking down as Summer lit the lantern again. "I've got Grimm goo on my clothes."

"That's gonna stain," said Raven, and Tai knew she was speaking from experience.

"Maybe people will think it's badass!" Tai suggested.

"Yeah, until you tell them you were down in the sewers during detention when it happened." Qrow laughed.

"Let's go see if the dining hall is still open. I need a cookie," said Summer.

"Showers first please," said Raven.

Tai walked with his teammates back to the elevator. For the first time, he felt a taste of what it would be like once they became professional Huntsmen and Huntresses. He couldn't wait.


	7. Chapter 7

_From Vale there rises yonder, below the setting sun_

 _A tower, a Beacon, a strong united front._

 _Those with dreams of valor, those called to the fight_

 _Gather now at Beacon, sing the Huntsmans' Rite._

 _-_ Alma Mater, Anonymous

Chapter 7: A Vacation

Summer leaped onto the bed, scattering the papers Raven had all around her. "Hey!" said Raven, but her voice lacked the harsh tone it had back at the start of the semester.

"Sorry," said Summer, gathering up the papers. "I was just excited." She settled back, her fuzzy socks and cozy pajamas still on, despite the fact that it was early afternoon.

"It's lunch time anyways, get dressed."

"I will, but first…" Summer scooted closer to where Raven was sitting on the bed.

"Here we go," sighed Raven.

"Hey! Don't get that attitude when you haven't even heard me out."

"Alright," said Raven, closing her textbook. "I'll bite. What has you so excited and is more important than studying for finals?"

"Plans for after finals!"

Raven looked as confused as Summer had predicted she would be. "I'm inviting you, and Tai and Qrow, back to my house for the holiday break."

"Why?"

Summer was confused by this question, but figured Raven and Qrow probably didn't have many visits with friends while living in Anima. "Because we've finished our first semester at Beacon, and I want my family to meet my team!" Summer's eyes dropped. "And also because I can't imagine going home to my family while you and Qrow sit in the dorm all break."

"Oh. Um…"

"Come on, I _know_ you don't already have plans!"

"Qrow and Tai already accepted, didn't they?"

Raven was sharp, Summer had to admit. Summer tried to look demure. "Ye."

Raven rolled her eyes in a 'what choice do I have?' sort of expression, and Summer cheered. "You'll love it! My mom is such an excellent cook, and my step-dad built the house from the ground up, and my little sister is the most adorable thing in the world and there's going to be so much food and…"

Summer continued on as they walked down to the dining hall (Summer still in flannel pajama pants). "...and we always get these fancy chocolates, and there'll be fires in the fireplace. Oh! And my step-dad plays the lute and-"

"Summer, I get it, it'll be fun," said Raven.

There was a cackle from behind them. "Did Raven just use the word fun?" asked Tai.

"And not to refer to combat?" added Qrow.

Summer greeted her teammates. She was glad that Tai and Qrow seemed to get along better since that crazy detention. In fact, they were nearly inseparable now. "I told her about our trip during break!" Summer said gleefully. "She agreed to come!"

"I was under duress," teased Raven. The team ate lunch together and then returned to studying for finals, which began the next day.

Summer spent the afternoon in the library, reading up on Grimm Theory, Battle Tactics, and Sociology, and then spent the evening on one of the combat pitches in a large field behind the school, firing her arrows at targets and practicing with her semblance.

Exhausted, her aura nearly depleted from overusing her semblance, Summer laid back on the lush grass. She was prepared for finals, and all of her teammates were coming home with her for the break.

"Howdy, partner."

Summer sat up. Tai was approaching from the main school building, a skateboard under his arm.

"Shouldn't you be studying?" Summer teased.

"I was, really, but then… look what my parents sent in the mail! A gift!" He held out the skateboard for her to examine.

"Can you ride it?"

Tai shrugged. "I was about to go find out. Wanna come?"

There wasn't much more Summer could do that night besides eat a good dinner and get a good night's sleep. She decided to accompany Tai. They walked down to the docks, which were abandoned on a Sunday evening, and there were plenty of ramps and open space to practice on. Summer sat on a ledge and swung her legs as she watched Tai first stumble, and then slowly get the hang of the skateboard. She occasionally shouted encouragement to him, and they only went back to the school after Summer started to get cold.

"Here," said Tai, handing her the flannel shirt he had discarded as he started to practice. "I'm hot now, I don't need it."

Summer slipped on the shirt, rolling up the sleeves so that she could use her hands. It was warm and smelled of pine and the beach. "Ready for finals?" she asked him.

"I have to pass, so that I can have some of Momma Rose's homemade cookies."

"That's the spirit!"

When they got to the dining hall, the twins were nowhere to be found. Summer imagined they had already eaten and left. Her suspicions were confirmed as she could hear them as she approached the dorm room. Tai put out an arm to stop Summer, and hushed her.

Summer shot Tai an evil look, preferring not to eavesdrop on their teammates.

"I'm just saying that-"

"No, I know what you're saying but you're wrong. We can't be too careful."

Qrow sighed. "Yes, I know that, but Raven, if you go on like this then-"

"Then everything will be fine."

Summer slowly backed up, then made enough noise as she approached the door that the twins had time to collect herself before she entered. She didn't like being sneaky, but she had a feeling that Tai would have enjoyed listening to the rest of their conversation.

"Alright team! I need a shower, but then let's have one last review session for the team practical exam before we get to bed."

"Yes, sir!" teased Qrow.

In the end, Summer felt that the finals went better than expected. She was top of the class in Grimm theory, and third in battle tactics (behind Barty and surprisingly, Glynda). She scraped a B in sociology, and her individual combat was in the top ten of the class. Raven was second in solo combat, behind some brute named Yarrow who seemed to have an unlimited aura. Their team battle was against Team CROM, made up of four boys named Cooke, Rudy, Onyx, and Mist, and though they took five seconds longer than the "time to beat", they bested CROM without a single casualty on their side.

"That was so cool! Qrow, did you see when Summer snuck up behind Cooke? Oh the look on his face was priceless!" Tai was raving all the way back to the dorms. "Even Ozpin looked impressed with the battle. It's a shame he's only sending third and fourth years to Mistral for the Vytal Festival this year."

"Yeah, but we'll definitely qualify our third year!" Summer pitched in.

"Yeah, but, I'm from the desert, man! Next Vytal Festival is set to be in Atlas. I'm going to be a Tai-cicle!"

"You will freeze for the glory of our team," said Qrow. "And you will like it."

"Alright, let's get back and finish packing, we need to be to the station by seven!" Summer skipped ahead, excited to return home. She slowed down to let the others catch up, and caught sight of a unplaceable look on Raven's face. Summer felt a little guilty. Perhaps she shouldn't be boasting so much about her tight-knit family when it was clear Raven and Qrow likely only had each other. Still, that was all the more reason for Summer to welcome them into her home, she figured.

"Alright," Summer said, instructing the others who stood over open suitcases. "Lysander is pretty chilly this time of year. It's a seaside town, so I also borrowed these from Professor Port." Summer held up the rubber boots they had worn on their detention below the school. "If I were you, I would pack warm sweaters, long pants, and thick socks. If you have hats, gloves, and scarves, pack them, but if not, my mom has plenty of extras."

"Looks like you're going to be a Tai-cicle sooner than you thought," said Raven to Tai.

Qrow laughed. "Sis, I think that's the first joke I've ever heard you make."

They packed according to Summer's instructions, ate a small dinner in the dining hall, signed out for break in Professor Qymia's registration book, and walked off towards the station. They boarded the flying ship, which would take them as far as the northern border of the Vale mainland. Next, they would have to take a ship across the North Sea to Vale's northernmost island of Killian and its small, southern-coast village of Lysander.

The kingdom of Vale spread out gloriously in the setting sun, from where Team STRQ stood sat in the viewing cabin. "Oh, I almost forgot," said Summer, reaching into the smaller bag, which was slung over her shoulder. "These are for you!" She passed small packages to her three teammates, who all had their faces pressed curiously to the airship's windows.

"For- for what?" asked Raven, holding the wrapped package delicately.

"For the holidays? For being my teammates? For passing finals, whatever you want!"

"But, we don't have anything for you," said Tai, looking guilty.

"Oh, no worries, coming along with me during break is enough!" Summer took this time to gaze out the window, and let the others open their gifts. She smiled, knowing she had chosen well.

"Sweet!" Tai ripped through the paper first, revealing a pair of aviator sunglasses. "I'll look so much cooler on my skateboard now!"

"You'll never look cool," drawled Qrow. "Oh, awesome!" His gift was a small toolkit, perfect for adjusting all the tiny pieces of hardware on his scythe. "Thanks, Summer."

"An awesome weapon needs lots of care!" Summer hummed.

"What is… this?" asked Raven. She was holding a red square of cloth, attached to a loop of elastic, decorated with embroidery, and lined with lace.

"It's for your hair, so it doesn't get in your way during combat. I made it myself!"

"Raven, that's now officially the girliest thing you own!" Both Qrow and Taiyang laughed at Qrow's joke.

"Thank you, Summer" said Raven, pulling back half of her mane of hair and slipping the accessory on.

"Look, I see the sea!" Taiyang's words were true, and the airship was drawing ever closer to the coast, and the tiny village of Lysander. Summer relaxed back in her seat, ready for some cozy holiday cheer.


	8. Chapter 8

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,

'Tis the gift to come down, where we ought to be,

And when we find ourselves in the place just right,

'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.

 _-_ Joseph Brackett, _Simple Gifts_

Chapter 8: An Adventure

Raven relaxed in front of the fire. Truly relaxed. She let the tension ease from her shoulders, her neck, and her abdomen as she lay back on the sheepskin rug before the fire. Rex, Summer's dog, curled up by Raven's feet. Emilia, Summer's little sister, played cheerfully nearby.

Summer was in the kitchen, helping her mother with the dishes. Taiyang and Qrow were playing a card game Summer's father had taught them, and they quickly became addicted to. And Summer's father was on the couch, picking quietly at his lute. Raven sighed, and nearly giggled as Rex began licking at her toes.

The Rose-Powell cottage was named "Hollyhock House", and Summer's mother, Karen, explained that in the summer, hollyhocks bloomed all through the yard. Summer's step-father, Dean had planted them twelve years ago, after his marriage to Karen.

Summer's father had been a Huntsman, and it was from him that she inherited her silver eyes, but he was killed when she was still a toddler, and so it was Dean who was a father figure for most of her life. Summer explained to Raven that at first her parents were hesitant when she asked to enroll in combat school, but they acquiesced once they realized Summer's will was set.

"Now if Emilia wants to become a Huntress, I might not be happy about that," Summer had said.

Emilia was five, and was constantly accompanied by her kitten, Sweet Pea. She loved coloring, helping her mother in the kitchen, and playing her own mini lute. Raven felt the same way as Summer, and desired to protect this little girl's happy life.

Raven turned on her side, so that she was facing the flames. She hadn't imagined herself enjoying this vacation as much as she had. Hollyhock Home was the polar opposite of the tribe where she and Qrow had been raised. And before they were in the tribe, when they were Emilia's age, things had been even worse. She stared at the flames, allowing them to burn into her irises.

She hadn't been able to believe the warm welcome Karen and Dean had greeted them with. Though it was close to midnight when they arrived, there was warm pie and hot cocoa ready for them, and their beds were made up. The next day there was a hearty breakfast of bacon and eggs, and they went on a hike with Dean down to the seashore. When they got back, there was another amazing meal of beef stew, and Karen had given them all hand-knit hats in their favorite colors. Apparently she and Summer had been planning this visit for some time.

Now it was evening, and everyone was relaxing. Was this how Summer had grown up? Had these warm and cozy feelings somehow permeated Summer's personality? They must have. And if that theory of environmental transcendence was true, it would explain why Raven was so cold and suspicious, even though sometimes she hated those parts of herself. _Don't forget emotionally unavailable,_ Qrow would have said, if she had been thinking out loud.

"Hey!"

Raven sat up, blinking away the flames. "Hey Summer."

Summer kneeled down beside Raven, absentmindedly scratching Rex's head. "So, how's the trip been?"

Raven put her hands on Summer's shoulders, a move that seemed to surprise Summer. "Summer, this is the most relaxing weekend I've had in my entire life."

Summer beamed. "Well, lucky for you we still have, let's see… hot springs, clam digging, making smores, climbing Mount Doer, eating Mom's onion soup, and the village's New Year Festival."

"We're going to fit all that in, in a week?" asked Raven. She just wanted to lay by this fire for five more days.

"We Rose-Powells are nothing, if not efficient," Summer laughed.

"Raven, Qrow," Dean called to them. "What kind of music did they play out in your part of Anima?"

Qrow shrugged, looking to Raven. "We had folk songs," she said. "Drinking songs, hunting songs, even a couple nursery rhymes."

"Are you familiar with 'Coming Home'?"

"Oh, I know that one!" said Taiyang. Qrow and Raven also nodded.

"Excellent. Emilia, come here." Dean pulled the little girl onto his lap, and between him and the lute. He began to play the familiar melody, though the sound was different than Raven remembered, due to the differences in instruments used.

" _Coming home now, gather in, we're back the road a stretch. Coming home now, friends and kin, with tidings of our best. Back at home the candle's burning, back at home they wait. Coming home now, hasten home now, lighten load and rest."_ They all sang the song which apparently was known across the kingdoms, and even in the barren Anima.

Karen came into the room then, settling beside Raven and Summer in front of the fire. "Come on, Dean, play 'Merry Men'." Her smile was as bright as Summer's.

Dean again played a familiar tune, but this time the lyrics were different than Raven remembered. She caught Qrow's eye as they listened. " _Merry men we take the mead, collect the toll and tie the steed, merry men we won't be tricked, by the barman's lies or greed. Merry men come ye to town, toss the bullies yet around, once the stars shine in the sky, we'll be out til dawn is nigh."_ Dean strummed out the introduction again. "Come on girl, and you too, Qrow, you know a different verse, don't you?"

Raven blushed, but she was having too much fun to deny Dean. " _Merry men by phantom's fortune, merry men lay thee to rest, come the riches come the barter, come the time to stand the test. Merry men be warned through darkness, merry men outstand the Grimm, through the toil of the battle, merry men return to kin."_

Dean finished strumming and the room was silent for a moment. Raven felt her face go red. "You can sing?" asked Tai.

"As well as anyone else," she said casually.

"You'll have to write those lyrics down, girl, I enjoyed your version. Who taught it to you?"

"No one, it was always being sung here and there."

Emilia had taken her father's instrument and was plucking out a nursery rhyme. Beside Raven, Summer's eyes were growing heavy. Tai and Qrow had abandoned their game.

"Alright, time for bed, all of you! You four have a big day tomorrow." Karen stood up, picking up Emilia and carrying her off to bed.

"Before you go, listen to me." Dean spoke low, and the four members of Team STRQ moved closer to listen.

"I don't think you'll see anything on that mountain, but bring your weapons just in case. There've been a couple Beowolves spotted around here recently. If I were you, I'd just stay closer to home, but Summer insists you see the view from the summit."

"We'll be careful," said Qrow, his gravelly voice providing reassurance.

"Sing cheerful songs, keep the negativity away," said Dean. "I'm no Huntsman, so I'll just be a liability if I come with you. And if you miss Karen's soup, she'll kill you twice over."

They laughed at this. "Thanks for the tip dad, we'll be safe. Goodnight!" Summer hugged her father, and the others bid him goodnight and followed her to their bedrooms.

The room was still dark as Raven felt something heavy fall on her. Snapping awake, she sat up to meet silver eyes, glinting in the dark. "Morning, sunshine."

"I was about to punch you. Don't startle me."

Summer backed off the bed, and Raven could see that she was already dressed. She wore leggings, tall socks, a warm sweater, and a hand-knit scarf. "I didn't want to wake my mom, so I'm going to go down and make breakfast for us all. Get dressed!"

Summer lit a small lamp on a side table and disappeared down the stairs. Raven followed her soon after, donning a similar outfit. The boys joined them minutes later, and they sat down to a breakfast of cinnamon toast, coffee, bacon, and sliced apples. The three guests followed Summer down a path in her backyard, and it took about half an hour for them to hike to the base of the mountain.

Raven trailed behind, sipping coffee from her thermos. The boys had made jokes about her taking after Barty, but her fingers were warm. Her breath came out in little puffs in the cold mountain air. Ahead, Summer was climbing up a large boulder, looking at the view from halfway up the mountain.

The Beowolf appeared up the path from Taiyang, right as he was turning back to say something to Raven. It was small, but it would still do damage to Tai in his vulnerable position. Summer and Qrow were further ahead, and facing the wrong way to see it. Raven shouted, drawing her sword, but Taiyang's reaction time was poor. Perhaps he was still sleepy. Instinctively, as she had done with Qrow so many times before, she sliced a portal with her sword, using her semblance. She popped out right beside Taiyang, and slashed at the Beowolf. It swatted her aside, but it gave Taiyang enough time to draw his weapon and finish the attack.

"What the hell, that one was sneaky!" he cursed.

"Taiyang, Raven, are you alright? Oh, I shouldn't have let us get so far apart like that." Summer ran back to meet them, Qrow in tow.

"Raven, did you just…?" Qrow looked at her inquisitively. Raven nodded.

"I- I made a portal to Taiyang." Hesitantly, she cut open space again, revealing the swirling red abyss of her semblance-fueled portals. Diving in, she emerged beside Summer this time.

"Holy shit!" said Taiyang. "This is crazy!"

Raven nodded, agreeing. Summer took charge. "Let's get to the summit, I'm worried about seeing more Grimm on the narrow path. Then we can discuss this more."

Following their leader, Team STRQ ascended the mountain. Raven stayed close this time, her excitement growing the more she thought about this new development with her semblance. At the top, the view was beautiful. To the south, the sea stretched out endlessly. To the east and west, small colorful villages dotted the seashore. To the north, great plains and deep forests covered much of the island.

"Can I go through your portals?" asked Taiyang.

The others were quiet. Raven thought for a moment. "I have no idea. Before today, I could only make them to Qrow."

"Yeah but you never sent anyone else through?"

"Hey, come off it, blondie," said Qrow. "It's not like we were rich in friends."

"I mean, you can try," said Raven.

"I don't know if that's such a great idea," cautioned Summer.

Raven opened a portal to Qrow. Crossing his fingers, Taiyang ran through… and emerged beside his teammate, unscathed.

"Oh my God, that felt weird!" he said.

Summer looked thoughtful and excited. "This. Changes. Everything!" she shouted. "This completely changes what our team is capable of. Raven can send herself, or anyone else to where the others are during combat."

They spent the next hour practicing with portals, until Raven had to sit down from exhaustion. Her aura was being depleted from overusing her semblance, she could feel it. But more than that, she felt good. She had made progress.

"Hey, I have an idea," said Summer. "Raven, you look tired, and I don't want you to run into a Grimm on the way down. Why don't you and Qrow wait here, Tai and I will climb down, and then you can make one more portal and meet us at the bottom?"

Raven gave Summer and thumbs up sign and she disappeared down the path with Tai. Qrow came and sat beside her.

"You've really settled into family life," he teased her, cutting right to the chase.

She shrugged. "I didn't think I'd like it as much as I do. But, just… not worrying about anything is amazing."

Qrow laughed. "I can't say I hate it myself. Though I don't think this is the endgame the tribe sees for us."

"That's true. But it's nice to pretend for a week at a time."

"Raven, why don't we come clean?"

Raven looked at her twin like he had grown another head. "To who? About what?"

"To Tai and Summer, to Oz, even. About where _and who_ we came from. They could protect us. We could start a new life, being Huntsmen in good faith."

Raven laughed softly, in a cold, _you know nothing_ sort of way. "Maybe you could pull it off, little brother, but I doubt it. I definitely could not. There's no _protecting_ us from them. There's no escape."

"Oz is pretty powerful, Rae. And the tribe would never come to the kingdoms, they wouldn't risk it."

"They're called mercenaries and assassins, Qrow. They'd find a way to make you dead. Don't go soft." Despite her harsh words, she rested her head on his shoulder. "I don't want to die, Qrow."

"I know."

They sat on the mountain a while longer, before taking the portal back to Summer and Tai, who were already on the path back to the house. Raven was upset by her conversation with her brother. She could no longer relax.


	9. Chapter 9

O brothers mine, take care! Take care!  
The great white witch rides out to-night.  
Trust not your prowess nor your strength,  
Your only safety lies in flight;  
For in her glance there is a snare,  
And in her smile there is a blight.

- _The White Witch_ , James Weldon Johnson

Chapter 9: A Party

The rabbit had been a gift from Summer's parents to Raven, given when the team had been packing up to return to Beacon.

"Summer told me you used to have rabbits," said Dean, "And ours just had a litter of adorable kits. Emilia wants to keep them all, but she settled for finding good homes for them."

Raven had been speechless as Karen placed the small, fluffy rabbit in her hands. "Thank you," she said quietly. The rabbit snuggled in close to her chest, seeking warmth. Raven wrapped her scarf around it.

Half a year later, the rabbit bounded playfully around the dorm room, familiar with every nook and cranny and good hiding space. Raven had named her Cinnamon, because of the reddish-brown color of her fur. The rabbit cheerfully munched on a banana Qrow had forgotten as he got up from his desk.

Qrow had gotten up to open the window, in order to get some airflow into the sweltering dorm room. Being on the upper level definitely did not benefit them when the temperature was this high. Qrow felt sticky and lethargic, and just wanted to sleep. "Why aren't you feeling this?" he asked the rabbit. Cinnamon twitched her nose in response.

Raven had gone to town to purchase some Dust for her sword. Taiyang and Summer had gone off somewhere together, and Qrow's plans with a girl in their year, Tricia, were thwarted when she earned herself detention for talking back to Professor Q. How someone could even get detention over summer break was beyond Qrow, though he had a few close calls due to his mischievous nature. Perhaps that's why he got along so well with Tricia.

He fell back on his bed, debating a strange mystery that had been bothering him lately. There were two parts to it. First was the book. Summer's propensity towards Grimm theory had been extremely well-received by Professor Grey, and Summer had been invited to take Advanced Grimm Theory, usually reserved for upper-level students, that spring. During the class, Summer had to write a research paper on Grimm-related folklore, and she had come across an eerie book in Tukson's. It was called _Grimm Genesis,_ and it was a small, black book with worn, yellow pages.

Qrow had picked up the book one day on a whim, and began reading the strange conspiracy theories of the author, L. Malone. Malone seemed to believe that Grimm came from certain origin points, brought to life by a great and terrible White Witch. The witch was incredibly powerful and timeless, and would eventually overrun the world with her terrible machinations.

Qrow didn't find this very strange at the time. It reminded him of the old nursery rhyme: _Grimm from black, Grimm from white, Grimm will eat the stars of night._ It wasn't until a few weeks later that Qrow began to believe Malone was on to something. It was a Friday, and Qrow had travelled to a bar on the very edge of the town to avoid earning his team another detention. He sat alone, sipping his whiskey, and watching some early rounds of the Vytal Festival.

Someone bumped him from behind, and Qrow jumped in surprise. He did not want to be caught here. "Great Salem, what's got you so frightened, boy?" asked the old man who jostled him. He was thin and tall, with missing front teeth and floss-like gray hair.

"What did you say?" asked Qrow, "Did you say Salem?" That was the name Malone had used.

The man snorted. "She's real, I met her," he said, belching. "Hell of a charmer, that one. She damned near killed me, just for breathing." The man stumbled out the back door.

"Wait!" said Qrow, going after him. When he got to the back alley, the man was gone.

He'd not heard another word about a white witch or Salem since, and Summer seemed to dismiss Malone entirely ("Professor Grey says he was a lunatic"), but the thought still made him feel uneasy. He kept _Grimm Genesis_ tucked in a corner of his shelf.

"Brother, what are you doing?"

Qrow sat up to see Raven standing in the doorway, a small paper bag in her hand. She was wearing a black tank and shorts, her white skin glowing fiercely. "Trying to nap," he growled.

Raven set her bag down carefully and scooped Cinnamon into her arms. The rabbit nuzzled close. "I've said it a million times," said Qrow, "But the adorable bunny doesn't really fit your image."

"Hey! You're both here, perfect!" Summer burst into the room. Raven moved swiftly to protect the Dust. "Oh, hey Cinna," added Summer, patting the rabbit. "There's a party tonight, and we're invited!"

"Hmm. Where?" asked Qrow. He needed a night to relax and get drunk before the term began again.

"It's on a fancy yacht, docked in the harbor south of the docks. Yarrow's parents own it, but they're off on a trip to Vacuo for a long weekend."

Raven looked to be in a foul mood at the mention of the classmate who had bested her in individual combat twice.

"Yeah, alright. Come on, Rae, you're not gonna sit home alone all night, are you?" Qrow looked at his sister with disapproval.

"I'm not alone, I've got Cinna. And I'd much rather stay here, I'm not in the mood."

"Raven, I insist! The coolest team in Beacon needs to attend parties together." Taiyang had joined them then, bursting into the room with the same amount of energy as Summer, despite the heat. They truly were well-matched partners.

Raven considered Taiyang for a moment. "Maybe for a little while, to get the three of you off my back," she said.

Hours later, after the sun went down and everyone had showered and changed, they set off for the docks together. The boat was easily identified due to the music blaring from it, and the neon lights flashing from inside. Team STRQ climbed aboard together, the girls in dresses and the guys in jackets and ties. Yarrow's older brother, Zeke, was an upperclassman at Beacon, and so there were plenty of people Qrow didn't recognize mingling about. Qrow got himself a drink and watched Tai and Summer hamming it up on the dance floor, and scanned the room casually to see if Tricia had made it.

He saw some upperclassman boy talking to Raven, and felt his stomach knot. It wasn't as if he was concerned for his sister, exactly- besides maybe Yarrow himself, Raven could hold her own against most of the boys at Beacon- it was more of a warning from past experience. In the tribe and even before, most men who took an interest in Raven _like that_ did not have her feelings in mind. It was strange: himself and Tricia, Taiyang and Summer (which wasn't official but heavily implied), and even Glynda and that weirdo Killian, Qrow had more or less accepted as normal. Somehow, though, the idea of Raven in a romantic relationship worried him. He couldn't even be sure if he was worried for his sister or her partner.

"Spying on your sister?" Tricia smirked, both at her comment and at the way she'd snuck up on Qrow. Her blonde hair was tied up into a bun, and her eyes were lined in black.

"Kinda, I guess," he admitted, taking a generous sip from his drink.

"Oh, I realized you were twins and partners, but I didn't realize it was like _that,_ " Tricia winked.

"Old habits die hard. No one had honorable intentions back in Anima. Not towards my sister."

"Who knew you could be so chivalrous?"

Qrow sighed. "Let's go see what's happening by the pool," he suggested.

The party raged on at the pool as well, and Qrow was amused to see Barty chug a beer like he chugged coffee by day, then cannonball into the pool. Barty might be a nerd, but he knew how to let loose. Even Glynda had jumped in, and Qrow had to admit that he liked what he saw. Perhaps he had a thing for blondes.

Qrow and Tricia talked with some of their mutual friends on the pool deck, got pressured into a game of poker, and then each had a turn throwing up off of the side of the deck.

"Have enough to drink?" teased Raven, eyeing their green faces.

"Heyy, Raven," slurred Tricia. "Qrow was afraid you'd gotten yourself a boyfriend."

"Hi, Tricia. Nothing that exciting has happened to me tonight. In fact, I just came to tell Qrow I'm heading home."

"Come on, Raven, don't be a buzzkill," said Qrow.

"I'm not a buzzkill, it's two in the morning. The police will be back soon, too, and it won't be a warning."

"Ooh, I'm on probation, I better find my team and get back," said Tricia. She waved goodbye to the twins and disappeared into the crowd.

"So, done cock-blocking me?" Qrow teased.

"Yes. Like I said, I'm going back now." Raven looked rather distressed. He felt bad, he knew crowds like this made her anxious.

"Hey, I'm just joking. I'll come with you, let's go."

She looked relieved at this and led him through the crowd to the exit. She stopped short just before the end of the ramp that led to the dock, and Qrow crashed into her back. She stumbled forward from the impact, and Qrow saw what had made her stop. In the moonlight, at the end of the next dock, were Summer and Taiyang, kissing passionately.

Qrow's first instinct was to call out and tease them, but he swallowed it down and grabbed his sister's arm. "Come on, let's go to bed."

"Mm," she agreed, her strides quick.

Qrow wanted to ask her if she was upset by the kiss, and if so, why, but he knew his sister well enough to know that this was not a good time. They wandered through the deserted streets of Vale in silence, two black birds, slowly approaching the school.

For some inexplicable reason, Qrow thought of what Raven had sat as they were sitting on top of that mountain in Lysander. _I don't want to die._

"Remember when we were kids, and we were walking through that awful village after the tribe had gone through the night before… Wren, I think it was called?"

"Mhmm." Raven responded, but continued to walk in front of him so he couldn't read her expression.

"And that snake bit you, and you didn't tell me?"

Just a barely perceptable nod of the head this time.

"Well..." he trailed off. "You know what, nevermind," said Qrow. He didn't want to give up the conversation, but he couldn't articulate what he wanted to say, and she was obviously less than enthusiastic about the topic.

"It's not like that," she said, surprising him. Then, she laughed a little. "Oh, remember how mad Lianna was when we got back and my ankle was the size of a grapefruit?"

"Hiro damn near thought you were going to die that night."

"As if one snake bite could take me down." She turned towards him then, showing the hint of a smile. "Come on, hurry up, I'm exhausted."


	10. Chapter 10

But thy eternal summer shall not fade  
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st;  
Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,  
When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st;  
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,  
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

 _-Sonnet 18_ , William Shakespeare

Chapter 10: A Conflict

"Quit slouching, Xiao Long." Professor Q rapped him with the end of her weapon, which was some sort of musket and bayonet combination.

Taiyang sat up slowly, unable to suppress the yawn that rose in his chest then.

"Goodness, boy. If this has you so bored, why don't you tell the class all about it?" Q's steely gray eyes bored down at Tai, and her gray hair was swept into a tight knot. She was as scary as ever.

"Well, heh, we were just discussing…" Tai scratched his head, an easy smile on his face.

"Tactics for when the Grimm outnumber-" Summer whispered from behind him.

"Tactics for when the Grimm outnumber the Huntsmen and Huntresses battling them," Tai repeated.

"Thank you, Miss Rose," said Q, a tired smile on her face. "I'll trust you can teach theories A-E to your teammate this evening."

Summer nodded, her face red. Tai found that he didn't mind being berated by Q if it meant Summer had to teach him the dull subject instead of the old woman. Besides, Summer's study sessions always involved cookies.

"I don't know why you help him," Tai heard Raven say to Summer.

"She's right," Qrow said to Tai. "If it weren't for Summer, you'd be failing tactics by now."

"That's because this class is dumb," he replied. "I have innate tactical skills, I don't need a crusty old lady teaching…" he trailed off, finally noticing Qrow's wide eyes and hand gestures to stop talking.

"We prefer the term 'experienced', for future reference," said Q.

"Pr-professor," said Tai, failing to recover his easy smile.

"I don't think Summer can dig you out of this one, Xiao Long. Detention, this Friday night, for talking back to a teacher and not respecting the academics of this institution." She turned away, and Tai sighed for being released from her terrifying gaze. She turned back, and the tension returned. "And also for calling me crusty. I could still kick your ass three times over."

The other students laughed, and Tai could only nod his understanding of the arrangement. Finally, class was dismissed. "Come on, you bad boy, let's get lunch," said Summer. The twins packed up their bags and followed along as well.

It was November, and the air was starting to get chilly. The leaves had mostly fallen from the deciduous trees around the school. Only the tall pine forests maintained their emerald color. Team STRQ shivered as they walked across campus to the dining hall. Tai found it hard to believe it was already several months into their second year. He picked at his meal, still upset about the run-in with Professor Q. "Sorry, Summer, I guess we'll have to go into town another time."

"That's alright," Summer said cheerfully, "We have all weekend."

"Summer, you can come out with us on Friday," offered Qrow. "Raven and I are going to that presentation that Professor Grey is giving on Exotic Grimm."

Summer's eyes lit up. "I didn't know that was happening!"

"We're mostly going because there's pie," added Raven.

"I love pie and exotic Grimm!"

Tai was a little annoyed at how well his detention had worked out for Summer. He knew she enjoyed spending time with him, and he knew that their team didn't do as many activities all together as she wanted them too, but he was still a little bitter. _Should have thought of that before you badmouthed Q,_ he told himself.

Summer had been upset about their relationship advancing in the beginning. After the summer party, she'd caught sight of Raven and Qrow walking past. They both realized the twins had seen them kissing. Tai hadn't much cared, but Summer seemed distraught. She had distanced herself from him somewhat, since then. They were still good friends, but whenever Tai tried to grab her hand take her out on a date, Summer would convert the gesture into something innocent, something that friends would do. He wasn't sure if it was because of her feelings for him, her love of good team dynamics, or another reason, but it was starting to get to him.

Summer excited over an idea of Qrow's just seemed to rub salt into the wound. "Summer, we better go over those theories I missed in class today this evening."

"Yes, we better," she agreed. "Do you two want to come and we can make it a team homework night?" she asked the twins.

"Yeah, alright," said Qrow. "Nothing goes better with rum than cookies," he joked.

"I guess I can let Cinna run around in the lounge while we study," added Raven.

The study session was successful, and Taiyang definitely learned five tactics for when he was outnumbered by Grimm, but he wouldn't be sure which theory went with which letter. Somehow, in no time at all, Friday rolled around, and he found himself dragging his feet on the way to Professor Q's office, while the others went off for pie. Life just wasn't fair.

Tai knocked on the door, and when it opened, he was surprised to see he was not the only student to earn detention this evening. Qrow's friend Tricia and her partner Morgana were there, as was Yarrow's older brother, Zeke.

"Ah, excellent, everyone has arrived." Professor Q promptly led them out to the training pitches. "Your task, this evening, is raking the pitches, cleaning off the scoreboards and the benches, and scrubbing out the drinking fountains."

Tai looked down at the long aisle of pitches. There must have been at least a dozen, and they were all fifty by a hundred meters. Q handed them rakes. "Seriously?" he moaned.

"Seriously. Unfortunately, Miss Ranworth has been with me so much this semester already, I've been forced to come up with detention activities outside the usually scope." Tricia blushed at this.

"I can see you all clearly from my office, so no goofing off. You may leave when you're finished, or at ten o'clock, whichever comes first. Oh, and no using your semblance, if you happen to have a semblance that helps with raking." With that, Q walked back to the school.

Tai grabbed his rake and began working on the closest pitch. The sand was coarse and heavy, and raking it was hard work. _How troublesome._ "So, what are you girls in for?" he joked.

"Morgana accidentally spilled Ozpin's coffee when he was observing her class," said Tricia.

"It would have been fine, except then he noticed the mug chipped. I swear I saw his eye twitch murderously!" said Morgana. She grunted as she lifted the rake, her pink hair glowing in the moonlight.

Tai laughed. "That's a good one! I called Q 'crusty' and I thought she was out of earshot."

Zeke laughed at this. "Oh you're lucky this was all she did," he said. "Back in my first year, I said something similar and before I knew it, she had me pinned to the wall with her bayonet. She let me hang there all day, I nearly peed my pants."

"Oh, man, Yarrow was telling us about that," laughed Tricia. "I'm here because once you have nine detentions, you earn a free tenth visit. And also because _fucking Qrow_ stashed his liquor in my locker and Grey saw it as I was getting my weapon out." She dragged the rake with effort. "So you can tell your teammate he's a real fucker," she said to Tai.

"Oh, hey, I know you!" said Zeke. "You're on Team STRQ."

The girls were moved farther away then, so it looked like Tai was going to be paired up with Zeke for the night. At least he's got huge muscles, Tai thought. It might make the work go faster. Zeke was even bigger than Yarrow, with dark hair and a handsome face. His weapon was an enormous battleaxe, infused with Dust.

"You know us?" he asked. Inside, he was a little impressed that STRQ was known by an upperclassman, and a popular one at that.

"Yeah, that guy Qrow cleaned me out in poker during the party on my parent's boat."

"Oh yeah, he'll do that. When it comes to drinking and gambling, he's a pro."

"Well, and… I think one of the girls on your team is cute. I'm not sure of her name."

Tai had almost decided he liked Zeke, but this comment made his stomach drop. How could he compete with someone like this? "Oh, yeah, Summer's really cute," he said, trying to sound cheerful. "Great with a longbow, too."

"No, not the longbow, the sword."

Now Tai was taken aback, but somewhat relieved that Zeke wasn't interested in Summer. "Oh, Raven? She's decided to make an enemy of your brother. And also cute isn't the first word I'd use to describe her."

Zeke smiled. "My brother does that to himself. Is she seeing anyone?" he asked.

Taiyang paused, focusing on his raking. Although he was glad Zeke wasn't interested in Summer, he still felt unsettled, though he couldn't figure out why. "No, she's not. She's a bit of a homebody though, and she's always going to the library."

"Good to know. I'll just ask her to get a coffee or something."

Taiyang realized that his words meant to dissuade Zeke were taken as advice for how to approach Raven. "What's this I hear, Raven's getting a boyfriend?" Tricia had managed to sneak up behind them.

"No, maybe just a date," Zeke said, sounding more sheepish than his imposing figure should allow.

"Ha! Good, I say. Qrow will probably have a different opinion." Tricia set down her rake and switched to scrubbing out the water fountain.

"Why would Qrow care?" asked Tai. "She doesn't care that he's seeing you."

"It's different when it's a sister," Morgana said. "And he was saying that there were some creeps out where they grew up in Anima."

"She's from Anima? That's badass!"

Tai sighed. All this conversation was doing was egging Zeke on. Tai didn't know why he even cared. "Taiyang," said Tricia, a playful smile on her face. "What's up with you and Sum?" Tai played dumb, dutifully raking. "Don't think Qrow doesn't share the juicy details with me. Like moonlit kisses or dinners in town."

"Nothing's happening," he said frustratedly. "Summer's back to being my friend, only."

Morgana, who didn't know him or Summer well, looked sad after hearing this. Finally, some sympathy. "Have you tried talking to her?" she asked. "Finding out why?"

Tai decided he didn't like her as much now. He wasn't particularly good with serious matters. He liked to joke around. "No," he admitted. "I don't know if I _want_ to know why."

"Oh, Tai, that's no good," she said. "You have to talk to her. Don't you want things to be like they were when you kissed?"

Tai stalked off to a far pitch, and raked while he mulled over his options. By the time ten o'clock chimed from the tower, he had not finished the work, but realized that his best bet was to follow Morgana's advice and talk to Summer. Ignoring the painful blisters on his hands, he walked back to the dorm.

Lucky for him, Summer was alone when he got back to the room. Cinnamon was sitting on her lap, and she was sitting in bed, reading a book. "Hey, Taiyang, how was detention?" she asked, but not unkindly.

He shrugged.

"Raven's down at the library, and Qrow went out, so it's kind of boring here tonight," she continued. "But oh my gosh, that pie was delicious! Would you believe Professor Port made it?"

"Summer." Tai said her name seriously and urgently, cutting her off.

She modeled her face into a more serious expression, and he sat down on the bed to talk to her. "What's going on with us? We were… closer during the summer, and now you're pulling away."

Summer looked embarrassed. "I'm sorry, Tai, I didn't mean to hurt you. I just felt like we rushed into that during the summer, and it was a little too fast for me."

"Well, it doesn't have to be fast. We can try again-"

"And also," she cut him off. "I don't know if it's appropriate for us to date and be partners. Especially without considering the rest of our team."

Tai had prepared for this response. "Kerry and Tristan are dating and are partners, and also, Professor Grey's husband was her teammate back when she was in school. It's not unprecedented."

Summer nodded. "Yeah, maybe it wouldn't be bad. But is it worth that risk? And lastly, just in general, I don't know if I'm ready for a serious relationship - with anyone."

This last bit hit Tai the hardest. It was something that was out of his control. He laid back on the bed, across Summer's legs. Cinna hopped over to him and sniffed at his ear. "I'm sorry, Taiyang. But I'm really glad you came to talk to me about it."

Taiyang nodded. He felt drained. "Hey! What's with your hands?" Summer asked, turning open his palms. "Is this from tonight?"

Tai nodded. "We had to rake the combat sparring pitches. It was awful."

Summer slipped her legs out from under Tai, and fetched some antiseptic and bandages from the bathroom. As she dressed his hands, he thought of something else. "Oh, Zeke, Yarrow's brother was there. He wants to ask Raven out."

"Hmm," said Summer. "A delinquent, for my Raven? I don't know about that." Her voice was a good impression of a concerned granny.

"She can handle herself, Sum."

"Physically, yes," Summer said, now quiet and serious. "But I worry about her still."

"Ow! Shit," Tai cursed as the antiseptic stung his open skin. Summer laughed playfully at his childish reaction to her nursing.


	11. Chapter 11

Some say the world will end in fire,  
Some say in ice.  
From what I've tasted of desire  
I hold with those who favor fire.  
But if it had to perish twice,  
I think I know enough of hate  
To say that for destruction ice  
Is also great  
And would suffice.

 _-Fire and Ice_ , Robert Frost

Chapter 11: A Shift

Raven sat on the windowsill of her dorm room watching the little figures below darting here and there across campus. Cinnamon was nibbling on a sprig of parsley (nicked from the dining hall) beside her. Raven was wearing a pair of athletic shorts and a tank, and although the minutes ticked past, she did not move. Finally, Summer came back to the room.

"What are you doing? It's almost time!" Summer squealed.

"I know. But I don't know what I'm doing. What do I wear? Do I need makeup?" Raven looked at Summer, knowing full well that she was currently the complete opposite of the capable teammate she was in combat. She was fully out of her element.

"Anything is fine. Zeke is not going to care what you're wearing. That one pair of jeans look nice on you, and so does that silvery top."

Raven stood up and pulled the items Summer recommended from her closet. "As for makeup, no, I don't think that's necessary," Summer continued. "You just need to relax, he asked you out because he already likes you."

"Summer, I just have no idea what I'm doing. Things like this didn't happen where I came from. I should have turned him down. I would have, but the whole thing was just too surprising."

Summer laughed, taking up the window seat Raven had vacated as her teammate changed. "It will be fine. And if it goes really badly, then that's it, you gave it a shot. No hard feelings."

Raven nodded, as if she was trying to convince herself of this.

"Honestly, you should be more worried about when Qrow finds out."

Raven had told her brother that she was going to be in the library that evening. She wasn't even sure why she lied, she just had a feeling she should. Perhaps she was afraid of the bad luck. "I don't think Qrow'll care much," she said, again trying to convince herself. "I'm the older twin, after all."

Summer laughed. "Whatever you say, Rae. For my part, I think he'll care a little, because even though he plays it cool, he worries."

"Well, I wasn't expecting Taiyang to care so much." It had been odd. When Summer had casually mentioned the date, Taiyang's mood turned foul and he had argued with Raven about why she agreed to go for the whole evening.

"He cares about you too," Summer said. "As do I, but I'm not as paranoid as the others. And I think it will be fun. And _and_ Zeke is really attractive."

"Alright, I better start walking or I'll be late. I'll tap you when I get back, sleepyhead," said Raven. Summer always preferred to be woken up when one of her teammates got back to the room late. She said she could never truly get to sleep until then.

Raven walked across campus, the December air causing her to shiver, despite the jacket she wore. She walked down the road into the village beside the academy, turning down a small street lined with colorful shops. _This must be it,_ she thought, standing before a periwinkle blue shop called "Tay's Teas". With a confident swoop that was more brave than what she was feeling inside, she swung the door open.

"Greetings!" called the shopgirl from behind the counter. Raven nodded in response.

"Hey, over here!" Raven almost laughed, despite her nervousness, when she saw Zeke. The imposing boy was sitting in a fluffy couch before a cozy fireplace in the corner of the shop, a delicate porcelain cup of tea before him. "It seems you've caught me at a strange time."

Now Raven did laugh, feeling a little more comfortable. "Good evening."

The shopgirl interrupted them then, and Raven ordered the imported green tea (no sugar). She sat down on a little couch across from Zeke. She wondered if she was supposed to sit beside him. As the girl left, Raven's worry set in again. What were they supposed to talk about?

"So I heard you're from way out in Anima," Zeke said. "That's pretty cool!"

Raven tried to look pleased with his comment, but inside she was confused as to what he was imagining. Her life in Anima was not "cool" in any way, and she did not have the fondest memories of her past. "It was alright. Very different from here."

"I'm sure." Zeke sipped from his tiny teacup. "My parents used to take me and my brother, you know Yarrow, right? They used to take us on these vacations all over Remnant. We would hire a personal Hunstman, and wander around, seeing all sorts of amazing things. I loved it."

The shopgirl returned with the tea, and Raven thanked her. "Is that what you want to do when you graduate?" Raven asked Zeke, hating the way a biting edge crept into her voice. "Accompany rich people who want to vacation in the wastelands? Defend them from the Grimm they might see?" _Huntsman-for-hire, take_ any _job, no matter how vile?_

Zeke seemed to understand that his comment had offended her some. "Look, it's just how I grew up. Can't choose your family," he said.

"You can't, that's true," Raven conceded. She wondered what she would be like if she had grown up in the kingdoms, daughter of rich parents, older sister of an oaf like Yarrow. Vapid, probably, rather entitled. In light of that, Zeke didn't seem so bad. Now, if Raven had grown up with parents like Summer's…

"Hey, you ok? You zoned out a bit."

"Oh yeah, I'm sorry. What were we talking about?"

"Nothing important," Zeke said. "How've your classes been going? I remember second year being harsh."

They talked about school and their teammates and other innocuous subjects for the better part of two hours, until Raven checked her watch in alarm. "It's this late already? I really have to get back. I have training with my team tomorrow morning." She stood up and put her coat back on, and pulled out her wallet.

"No worries, I'll walk you back to school. And I've got the check, no worries there."

Raven opened her mouth to protest, then figured it was easier not to. She wasn't even sure if she was protesting Zeke paying for her tea or for his offer to talk her back. They were going to the same place, after all.

She strode purposely through the empty streets, Zeke keeping pace without much effort, due to his stature. As they approached Beacon, he grabbed her shoulder. Raven flinched, but not enough to shake his grasp. Slowly, she turned her gaze up towards him. They'd stopped walking.

"Sorry if I startled you," he said. "I just kind of want to kiss you." He leaned forward.

"No, thank you!" said Raven, her voice wavering. She didn't even know why she felt this way, he just didn't put her at ease. It wasn't like being around Taiyang, or even Barty or James.

Zeke straightened abruptly, his brow furrowing. "What? Why not? I thought we had a good time."

"I did have a good time, but I don't want to kiss you. And I also don't think I want to do this again. I'm sorry." She felt strange, like she was about to yell at him or cry, or maybe even laugh. She needed to get back to the dorm.

"Hey, come on, don't be like that," he said, reaching out again to grab her arm. He was fairly gentle, but she could feel the force he was capable of. "We had a good night, why end it here?"

"I just don't want to, now leave it be." She wrenched her arm back.

"Alright," he said, holding up his arms in mock-surrender. "Whatever. It would have been nice, you could even have stayed the night, but it's fine."

"Goodnight, Zeke," she said, and then she turned away. Once she was a little further, she began to run, feeling like sprinting was the only way to work off some of this adrenaline. Oh, how she wished she had her sword at that moment. Eventually, she got back to the dormitory and entered, out of breath. She climbed the stairs slowly, her legs now tired. She looked over her shoulder once to ensure she wasn't being followed. Quietly, she opened the door to their room. All three of her teammates were sleeping quietly in their beds.

She looked at Summer, curled up under her covers, the moonlight lighting up her face. Maybe she should talk to Summer about what happened, she might be a good confidant. She passed over Taiyang and considered her brother. Although they usually didn't talk about dating, he was her partner, and he would at least be game for a quick spar to get her settled down. She moved forward to wake him up, cursing as her foot hit a loose floorboard.

"Raven?" asked Taiyang in a whisper, his voice groggy. "Are you alright?" He sat up to look at her more closely, and she backed up. He continued his approach, getting out of the bed, and slipping on a t-shirt. "Are you crying?" Still, he walked closer.

"No," she said, but she couldn't be sure. Perhaps it was better she didn't wake Qrow, she'd never live down him witnessing her being this weak. She rolled stepped back into the hallway, and sure enough, Tai followed.

She walked down the hall to the stairwell, and climbed up to the roof. She felt that the dormitory was claustrophobic. "What happened? Is this about Zeke?" Taiyang looked at her, his face stern.

She suddenly felt guilty for not listening to him earlier, when he was listing off reasons not to go. "I guess you were right?" she said. She walked over to the rail, looking out at the campus, because she didn't want Taiyang to see her face. Nothing even went _that_ badly, but she felt guilty for disappointing Zeke, and then hated herself for caring that she disappointed him. Taiyang walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, pinning her arms to her side.

"Raven," he said, resting his forehead on the top of her head. "Relax. Everything's fine. No one's harmed, yes?" His voice was muffled in her hair.

"Everyone is fine," she repeated, her voice dull. His arms remained around her. She didn't understand what was happening or what these feelings were. She thought of Taiyang kissing Summer back in August, and the tension returned. What was he doing? What was this gesture? What were his intentions? She shook herself free. She needed Qrow, but here was Taiyang.

"Raven, tell me what happened?" he asked.

"No." She felt a little bad for dismissing him. "I mean, _nothing happened._ We had tea, we talked, we walked, we parted. We decided it's not happening again."

"Uh huh," said Taiyang, implying he knew she wasn't telling the whole truth, but allowing her to lie to him. "Well in that case, I guess you wouldn't mind if I put a whoopie cushion under his seat at the dining hall, or have a girl pass him some patented hot pepper chocolates?"

Raven laughed a little, despite her confusion. "I guess I would have no reason to care."

Raven went to bed soon after. Her mind was racing, but she was exhausted, and sleep soon won out.

The next morning was training for the upcoming team practical. Summer had them up early, and Raven yawned dragged herself across the room, brushing her teeth and getting dressed with zombie-like efficiency. "Let's go, all!" called Summer, ready to make the morning commute to the dining hall before they picked up their weapons.

"Come on," said Qrow, ushering her along. "What's this?" he asked, pointing to a light mark on her arm.

Unwittingly, she thought of Tai holding her, though she knew that truly the mark was Zeke's doing. "Bad date," she mumbled, rushing off before he could question her further.

They ate quietly, since it was still too early for conversation, and Raven's eyes widened in horror and amusement as the sound of flatulence filled the dining hall. Everyone turned toward the sound, revealing Zeke, his face beet red, sitting in his usual seat. She had to admit, Tai worked quickly.

He smiled at her. "You're welcome," he said.

" _That_ was your bad date?" Qrow asked. He looked at Raven in a way that implied, _and since when does he know things I don't?_ Raven felt bad. She liked being close with her brother. _I'll tell you later,_ her return gaze read.

"Everyone ready?" asked Summer, gathering her things.

"Easy there, tiger, you've got chocolate on your face," said Tai, wiping it with his thumb.

Summer blushed a little. "Thanks, mom!" she teased.

Practice was more disjointed than usual. Qrow seemed to be more upset at Raven than he let on, and their partnership suffered for it. Also, Raven could feel a strange tension between herself and Taiyang that she tried to ignore. They tried all their formations a few times, then turned on the GrimmSim that Professor Ozpin was so fond of to simulate a live Grimm attack. It went alright for about thirty seconds, until Qrow's semblance kicked in, causing Summer to slip and get hypothetically crushed by a Beringel.

"Ugh, I hate the simulator. My semblance has nowhere to go but to my teammates!" Qrow cursed.

Raven was distinctly aware of the gentle way Taiyang helped Summer up. She couldn't be… jealous, could she? She shook her head.

In the end, it took them nearly twice as long as they had planned to get everything right. Summer and Tai went off to lunch together after, but Raven stayed behind to talk to Qrow. She had a feeling she had more than a few words from him coming.

"Hey," she said awkwardly, putting her sword away. "I um-"

"I can't believe fucking Tai," said Qrow. He kicked at some pebbles, and one flew up and hit Raven in the shin. "Sorry," he said.

"Tai? I thought you were mad at me."

"Heh." Qrow laughed. "Well, I wish you would have told me about Zeke, so I could have warned you that while I was robbing him in poker I learned he's a total skeeze, but I see you've come to that conclusion on your own."

"He's not all bad, but not for me," Raven concluded. "But why are you mad at Tai?"

Qrow started to walk back towards the dorms and gestured at Raven to follow him. She also wanted to get a shower before Tai and Summer got back, so she followed along. "I'm mad at Taiyang because he can't decide what he wants and it's going to end badly for everyone," said Qrow. "Now I know you're not the most emotionally intelligent Huntress on the planet, but you must have noticed the way he pines after Summer."

Raven nodded. "You're right, I'm not one for subtleties, but the kiss was a big tip-off."

"It was," Qrow agreed. "But, the subtlety you're missing is that he's now doing the same thing to you."

Raven thought of the previous night, of Taiyang's arms and him whispering into her hair. "The same thing… like romantically?"

"Like romantically."

The pieces were slowly assembling in Raven's mind. "But-"

"But, no, surely Taiyang wouldn't be pursuing _two_ girls, girls who are friends and teammates at that?" Qrow asked mockingly. Raven nodded. "And you see why I'm a little ticked off," Qrow concluded.


	12. Chapter 12

Warning: A fair amount of violence in this chapter!

The darkness drops again; but now I know

That twenty centuries of stony sleep

Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,

And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,

Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?

- _The Second Coming,_ William Butler Yeats

Chapter 12: An Attack

Bleary-eyed, Summer rose from her bed. The dawn light was gray and dull, and the room was silent. Her heart beat excitedly in her chest: today was the day. Quickly, she slipped into the bathroom, brushing her teeth and getting dressed before slipping down the hall to drop Cinnamon off to stay with a freshman she was friends with.

Returning to the room, she woke the others. First was Tai, who was never in a bad mood, even at 6:30 in the morning. Next was Qrow, who was in a bad mood but wouldn't talk back. Last was Raven, who was in a foul mood in the early mornings and had been known to curse, throw things, and kick in an attempt to sleep longer. Once they had all risen, she pushed them through their morning activities before rushing them down to the auditorium.

"Breakfast," moaned Qrow as they passed the dining hall.

"No time," said Summer. "We have to get in early to pick the best mission, then we can eat." They entered the auditorium and found the missions listed on the rear wall. In front of the wall were registration tables with professors logging which team was going where. An assistant ran back and forth, pulling down mission posters as they were claimed.

"Look!" said Taiyang, "A mission in Vacuo!"

"Lame," said Qrow. "Look at this one!"

"Oh, I like that one too," added Summer. It was a search-and-rescue mission on the southeast coast of Vale. "What do you think, Raven?" she asked.

Raven wasn't even looking at the board. "Whichever is fine," she said. Summer nodded. "Put us down for B754, please!" Summer asked Professor Grey.

"Certainly. You'll have a good time working with Ulger. He's an old pro."

As they walked back to the dining hall, Summer watched as Raven continued to look miles away. She had a feeling what was going on, because it had been going on for several months now. They were close to finishing their second year, but the team was growing more conflicted than when they had started the year.

The twins had been keeping to themselves more, which reminded Summer of when they first started at Beacon. Taiyang had been in a bad mood for a while now, since he felt that everyone was blaming him for everything that went wrong. Summer was beginning to doubt her team leader skills, since this whole thing had only gotten worse since she'd first tried to deal with it.

After a quick breakfast, it was time to get their belongings together and head out. They were travelling to the southeast of Vale, and it was likely warm there, so Summer packed her lighter clothes. She borrowed a set of sleeping bags for the team, and they walked out to the campus lawn to find Ulger.

He was hard to miss. Chris Ulger was tall and muscular, with a bald head and a great mustache and beard. He wore a tight t-shirt and black cargo pants, with thick black combat boots. His arms were patterned with black tattoos. Summer stood somewhere around his elbow. "Hello, Team STRQ, I presume?" he asked.

"At your service," said Summer. "I'm Summer, this is Taiyang, and Raven and Qrow."

"Hello all, my name is Chris Ulger. I have been a Huntsman for about 15 years. I hail from Mistral, but I did my training her at Beacon. Let's walk to the Bullhead and I'll get you caught up on the details."

They followed him to the transport, and Summer had a hard time quelling her excitement. This was their first real mission. With a real Huntsman!

They settled into the cargo bay of the Bullhead and the plane took off. Ulger loosened the ties on his boots and sat back. "Now," he said. "The mission. I'm going to explain the gist of it, and then I want you all to pitch in, tell me about your strengths, your weapons, your semblances."

"Summer's top of the class in tactics, she's going to have a field day," Tai said.

"Excellent. So as you read, the mission is search-and-rescue. We're going to a small port city called Jade, and last week, it was attacked by a colony of Grimm spiders and various other Grimm. Many residents were killed, but a majority were evacuated via airships. We have reason to believe that there are several people still in and around the village, so it will be our job to find them and get them to safety. We'll have to fight the Grimm we encounter, but once we've obtained the targets, we can leave. The village is done for anyways, no reason to risk our lives killing all the Grimm."

"Well, you wanted to hear about our semblances, right?" Summer asked.

Ulger nodded. "I guess I'll tell you about myself, first. I'm a mid-range fighter. I can throw my axe and reel it back in with a cable. My semblance is, well, it's an exaggerated grip. I can grab and hold on to just about anything, and I'm fast at climbing. So I tend to fight from rooftops or tree branches."

"That's awesome!" said Summer. "Raven and Taiyang and close-range fighters, Raven's got a sword and Taiyang uses kama. Qrow is close- to mid-range, depending on how he uses his scythe. I use a longbow, so I'm long-range, and I tend to provide cover for the team."

"It also suits you to be the tactician, based on your role as leader and your positioning on the field," Ulger said.

"I try my best," said Summer. "As for Semblances, mine is altering perceptions. I'm fair at changing the perceptions of people, but I'm pretty good at tricking Grimm. I can change how we smell, look, and sound."

"That's very neat. I've never met anyone with a Semblance quite like that."

"Taiyang's Semblance is related to gravity. He can increase or decrease gravity in his hits, for the Grimm, and in some cases, to himself. It makes him a pretty good climber too. And, well, he's pretty good at setting traps.

"Qrow's Semblance is bad luck," she continued.

"I can't turn it off," said Qrow. "So watch that you stay away from me in combat."

"It can affect us, but usually it affects the Grimm, and causes them to make a mistake," Summer said. She disliked how quick Qrow was to see his Semblance as a danger. "And Raven's Semblance uses portals. So far she has three she can make: one to each of us. She can climb through, and so can anyone else."

Ulger spent a moment thinking about the information Summer had presented. "This is very interesting. You seem to be a very well-rounded team. I plan to leave your team tactics to you, Miss Rose, and I'll take on our general plans."

"Got it!" Summer dug through her rucksack for her old black notebook, filled with pages of notes and diagrams detailing her ideas for their Team's formations and attacks. Ulger had described the village as by the seashore, but the description on the poster had also mentioned forests. They would have to prepare for three terrains: open beach, forest, and among the buildings of the village.

"What are you thinking, Sum?" asked Tai, moving in close beside her. Tai was looking at her notebook, but Summer noticed the pointed glare Qrow sent in Tai's direction. Raven was looking out the window. Summer bit her lip.

"I was just thinking that we need to be really focused. It's likely we'll be fighting on various terrains."

"That's true. What about that thing you came up with the other night in the library?"

At this comment, Raven did look over, but Summer was unable to interpret the meaning in her gaze. Raven returned to her seat and began speaking quietly with her brother. Summer returned to the notebook. She needed to _focus._

Within a few hours, the Bullhead arrived, and they stepped down on the sandy shores of a wide beach. Summer could spot buildings about a mile or two in the distance. Ulger took off in the direction of the buildings, presumably Jade Village, and Team STRQ followed. "Now remember," he said, his voice somewhat muffled by the sound of the tide, "There's some wild, rare Grimm out here - and some old favorites. The village was overrun with spider Grimm, called Aranae, which are capable of releasing a "silk" that is difficult to escape from. And it hurts like a bitch."

"So it's in our benefit to kill those from a distance, whenever possible," suggested Summer.

"Exactly. Summer, you and I will likely have to take care of those when we see them."

"What other Grimm were reported?" she asked.

"Well, there were a couple King Taijitu spotted, several Geists, and plenty of Borbatusks. Things that wouldn't be too troublesome on their own, but together, and in large numbers, can be overwhelming. There was also a Nevermore seen in the area recently, but they travel so quickly who knows it it's still around here."

"Could be. It's probably just waiting until it sees a good chance to attack those villagers who survived," said Raven.

"That's a good thought. And to be honest, I have my doubts about there being any survivors left. It's been two days since the attack, now."

"Well, let's think positive!" said Summer. She had to admit to herself, at least, that she was terrified of the prospect of discovering a dead body. She wondered if Raven and Qrow had. Some strange gut instinct told her the twins were likely familiar with seeing dead bodies, though she couldn't be certain of reason she felt this way.

When they were just outside the village, Ulger stopped them. "Have your weapons ready, and also, be prepared to see some… unsavory images. I'm not sure what we're going to encounter, but be prepared for the worst."

Releasing his axe from its holster, he shouldered it and moved forward. Summer watched Qrow and Raven do the same, and walk forward with a slow exhale of breath. Only Taiyang seemed to be mirroring the hesitance and fear that Summer felt. She could sense it in the air. Something _violent_ had happened here. "Come along," said Ulger to Summer and Taiyang, "We need to find a camp before nightfall."

They walked through the village slowly, taking in the empty buildings, the bloodstains on the dirt roads, the smell of rotting food, and infrastructure crumbling from where Grimm had attacked. Summer turned a corner and saw her through the window: an old lady, laying just inside an open shop's door. A pool of dried, black blood surrounded her. _Of course,_ Summer thought, feeling bile rise up in her throat. _Grimm disappear into the air, but when humans are killed, they just… lay there, decomposing._

It was then Summer realized that she smell she associated with rotting food was likely not _food_ at all. She swallowed down the acidic feeling in her throat. Ravens circled overhead, likely waiting for the living to leave so they could peck at the dead. Summer could feel herself trembling. _What a name,_ Raven, she thought. She could hear them _caw caw caw-ing_ overhead.

"Anyone here?" called Ulger. "We are Huntsmen and Huntresses. We are here to bring you to safety!"

 _Caw, caw, caw_ was the only response.

Ulger cursed. "What a wretched place. This is no place to bring students," he said. "Let's find a place to spend the night, and we'll plan out where we'll look tomorrow."

The others nodded, everyone eager to leave the village square. Ulger found a cave overlooking the seashore, and they climbed inside, setting up their sleeping bags. Ulger started a fire, and they heated some water for cocoa and ate bread, fruit, and cheese.

They decided to split up the next day. Ulger would walk the beaches, looking into all the little caves, while Team STRQ checked the surrounding forest. If they were in distress, Summer was to shoot a tethered, burning arrow to the beach, and Ulger would follow the tether to where they were.

Summer yawned, comfortably full and sleepy. While she hadn't forgotten the scene in the village, she had come to terms with it. If anything, it reinstilled her desire to become a Huntress, to save _more_ innocent people from this fate.

A loud snore came from the front of the cave, and Summer determined that Ulger was asleep. Taiyang pulled his sleeping bag to the far side of Summer's, and Raven took the other side. Qrow slept on the far side of his sister, and Summer couldn't help but notice the way he took the spot furthest from Taiyang. She wondered what the two of them were so unsettled about, but each time she pried, she was denied.

Summer knew the twins didn't like Taiyang's easygoing attitude. They found him to be lax and liable to suffer an attack or let his team down. But Summer knew he brought balance to the team. If Tai was as uptight as the Branwen's, the whole team would be ultra-paranoid and much too rigid. With a funny mental image of Taiyang with dyed black hair and red eyes (still wearing his favorite green hoodie, of course), Summer drifted off to sleep.

Once again, she rose earlier than her teammates, and changed into her favorite combat skirt. They were all the rage lately, and her parents had gotten her one for Christmas. Even Raven had gotten on board with the trend, and Raven _hated_ trends. Once everyone had awoken, they changed, had a quick breakfast, and split off from Ulger. Then, they trekked into the lush forest, filled with trees so dense the ground hardly got any sunlight.

"Anyone there?" called Summer. _Please, someone be there,_ she hoped.

After about twenty minutes, they heard a weak call in response. "Up here," it said.

Sitting on a tree branch was a boy of about ten, and a little girl who was even younger. "Help us, please," he cried.

"Stay put!" Summer called. She'd seen a flash of black and white out of the corner of her eye. "We'll take care of the monsters then get you to safety." She turned to her team, all of whom already had their weapons out. "Let's start with Ereth's 1st formation," she said. "Raven, you take point. I'm going to stay back here and defend the kids. Tai and Qrow, you take right and left wings."

"Got it," they said, dispersing. The intermittent flashes of black and white soon turned out to be the Aranae, which stormed forward on eight armored legs, pincers and fangs looking for a new victim. The children screamed. Summer couldn't blame them. The spider Grimm were four feet tall and _fast._ Summer used her Semblance to hide the children and herself. She didn't have the range to cover her teammates if she wanted to keep the children safe.

She watched Raven take out two, deftly dodging the sticky silk. Summer watched as it landed on a bush and burned the leaves as if it were acid. "Fuck!" Qrow cursed, a fiery red burn on his upper arm where the silk had hit. "I'll get you, asshole," he called.

Taiyang was doing predictably poorly. His weapon was not suited for such Grimm. However, he was having some luck using his Semblance to weigh the spiders down, and then he could go in and behead them. Summer fired arrows everywhere she could. When she had a moment, she fired the tethered arrow. Hopefully Ulger would be there soon.

A Borbatusk rushed in, charging toward the tree the children were in. It's tusks caused the whole tree to shake. Summer collapsed her bow into a sword and slashed at the creature. "Taiyang, get over here, Qrow, back up Raven!"

Tai came to Summer's side, working at taking down the Borbatusk. Summer scanned the trees for Ulger. She heard a strange, choked cry, and turned back towards the twins. The little girl in the tree screamed. Summer felt her blood pressure drop and she felt dizzy. A King Taijitu, even bigger than she could have imagined, had silently slithered up behind them, and stabbed Raven through the back with one of its fangs. "Oh, fuck, no!" yelled Qrow, obviously in a panic. An axe swung within inches of Qrow's head and embedded itself into the snake's chest. It recoiled, releasing Raven, who collapsed to the ground.

Ulger stormed through the clearing, attacking the black head while Qrow slashed at the right with his scythe. Taiyang finally killed the Borbatusk, and Summer set to work eliminating the Aranae. It felt wrong, leaving Raven laying in a heap on the forest floor, but with so many Grimm still active, there was no choice. After what felt like hours, but was probably only a few minutes, the snake finally fell, dissolving into black dust which floated off, as if it were never there.

The boy climbed down from the tree, and Summer helped the little girl down. Taiyang ran over to Raven. Summer hung back, both to watch over the children and because she was scared of what she might see. Surely… students didn't _die_ on experiential learning trips? She caught a glimpse of Qrow's face, which was gray and set. Summer fell to her knees, feeling tears welling up in her eyes and cursing herself for not being the team leader they needed right now.


	13. Chapter 13

But the Raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only

That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour.

- _The Raven,_ Edgar Allan Poe

Chapter 13: A Fear

Qrow's world seemed to move in a blur. Fear gripped at his chest, making it difficult to think and move. They were leaving, four children in tow, to fly away from this wretched place. Ulger had found two more children in the caves, and they marched quietly towards the Bullhead with the others. Qrow felt Summer tuck her arm through his, which is when he realized his arm was trembling. No, his entire body was trembling. Summer did not say "it will be alright", because Summer did not tell lies.

Taiyang ushered the children down to the beach. Qrow was relieved he was taking charge of those they rescued- he was unable to. Ulger led their solemn parade, Raven in his arms. Blood dripped onto the sand in their trail.

To get to the beach, they had to walk alongside Jade Village once more. Qrow watched Summer turn her face away. The little girl from the tree began to cry for her parents. Qrow's heart ached. The girl's brother shushed her, comforting her. He seemed to understand that he was the parent now.

Watching the siblings reminded Qrow of his own childhood. Qrow's sister, older by some minutes, was out of his sight beyond Ulger's broad back. She could be dead for all he knew. He thought of the time she'd been bitten by the snake in their childhood. He hadn't seen it, but that snake was probably a plaything compared to the King Taijitu. For the hundredth time, he saw the fang protruding through her chest, and the look of horrible realization on her face as she understood what happened. He hadn't been watching her back.

He looked over to Summer, the one who had given him that job, and saw that she was crying. Her face was still turned away, as if she didn't want him to notice. "I'm sorry," she said quietly. He realized then that as team leader, she felt responsible.

"It's not your fault," he said. "There was too much going on at once."

They abandoned the sleeping bags still in the cave in favor of moving straight to the Bullhead. Once the children were on the sand, they ran across to the aircraft. Qrow thought that this was reckless on their part, and thought someone should stop them, but hell if he was going to. Ulger boarded next, with Taiyang, Summer and Qrow behind. Qrow promptly moved to the back of the Bullhead, away from everyone.

"How can I help?" he heard Summer ask Ulger. The Bullhead jerked as it took off.

The children sat quietly, likely still in shock. Taiyang passed them each a piece of fruit and a bottle of water, and walked to the back of the plane to sit beside Qrow.

"Don't you want to know what's going on?" Taiyang asked. His voice was somewhat hostile.

"My Semblance," Qrow muttered, his voice ragged.

"Ohh." Taiyang fiddled with his weapons before collapsing them down. They needed a good cleaning - they were dark with sticky Grimm matter. "My uncle," Taiyang said slowly, his voice thick. "My uncle had the same thing happen to him, King Taijitu. Well, maybe some variation, it was in Vacuo and it looked a little different."

"And what happened to him?" asked Qrow. Now his voice was hostile. It tightened his chest to hear it, but it felt good to take out his tension on someone. And who better than Taiyang?

"He lived. It sucked, and it hurt like a bitch, but he lived."

"Uh huh."

"All I'm saying, is don't give up hope."

"Do I look like I'm giving up hope? What should I be looking like? Do you want me to smile?"

The children, hearing the shouting, turned towards them, fear in their eyes. Taiyang sighed, but to his credit, he remained calm. Qrow knew he was giving Tai a hard time, but couldn't help it. It wasn't _Tai's_ sister dying feet away, and it wasn't _Tai's_ fault it'd happened. "No, of course not. Look man," said Tai. "I know we've had disagreements, but we're all on the same team. Literally."

Qrow nodded, his anger quelled for now. Deep down, he knew it wasn't anger at all, but a deep-seated fear, a fear which had been there all of his life: without Raven, he would have _no one._ They'd been taken from their parents before they could even form any real memories of them, traded here and there, faced all sorts of dangerous situations, before eventually being taken in by the tribe. Even in the tribe, he formed no true relationships with anyone other than his sister. He cared about his sister, truly, but his concern was selfish. He didn't want to be alone.

"Summer and I are your teammates, please rely on us more."

Qrow looked up at Taiyang, confused by this statement which seemed to be unrelated to what they had been talking about. Taiyang's expression was so radiantly genuine, Qrow had to look away. It was a look he had come to expect from Summer, but not from Taiyang, who was usually full of playfulness or indecision.

"I know I have things to work on, and I'm trying to improve. Summer is as well. Even Raven is, though she'd never admit it. We're all learning."

Qrow nodded. He still didn't quite understand what Tai was on about, but he seemed to grasp the sentiment.

"Hey, we could use an extra hand up here," called Ulger's gruff voice.

"Got it!" said Taiyang, rushing forward. He turned back to Qrow. "We're almost back to Vale, then we can leave it to the pros. Think positive."

 _Heh._ Qrow's Semblance was bad luck- positive thinking wasn't really his thing. He heard a moan, a pained noise than was undeniably _Raven_ , and couldn't help but feel hope. Dead people didn't moan.

When they got back to Beacon, everyone was strained and sweating. The Bullhead touched down first at a nearby infirmary, and despite Team STRQ's pleas, Ulger told them that before visiting they must check in again at the school. Ulger accompanied the children into the infirmary, where they would be looked over before they would be found homes. Qrow watched them go inside and wondered if the system would treat them right- or if they would become forgotten somehow, picked up by a bandit tribe or the kingdom equivalent.

The Bullhead took off again, and Qrow felt the distance between himself and his sister grow, and it made him incredibly nervous. Summer and Tai were jittery too. It was difficult to think when they didn't have visual confirmation that their teammate was still alive and had not succumbed to blood loss or the potentially fatal effects of Grimm venom. It was a short ride back to the station at the school, and they thanked the pilot and disembarked. Slowly, arduously, they walked up the path towards the school.

It was evening when they arrived, and there were small groups of students on their way to dinner or the library. Other teams stared with curiosity at the three members of STRQ, the fourth member's absence conspicuous and accentuated by the grim looks on their faces. They walked to Beacon's tower, riding the elevator to the top. Qrow felt distinctly like he was about to be punished, and perhaps he was. He had let his team down, and he had let his sister down. His hands shook. Summer looked like she was going to be sick. Tai's face was set. Qrow felt that Tai was doing his best to hold everyone together.

The elevator doors opened to reveal Ozpin, Qymia, and Grey discussing something, huge clock gears ticking around them. Qrow had never visited this office before, and spent some time gazing around, if only to delay the inevitable. The professors' conversation ceased at the team walked towards them. Their faces seemed to mirror Qrow, Tai, and Summer's.

"Have a seat, please," said Ozpin.

Grey poured hot water into tea cups, dropped in tea bags, and set the drinks before them. Qrow felt that he couldn't lift the drink without spilling, and so he left it on the table.

"Professors, we're sorry, we made many mistakes-"

"Summer, please, you may say your piece, but let me speak first," said Ozpin. Summer fell back in her seat, deflated, and looked to be on the verge of tears. " _I_ must apologize to you, first of all. While the nature of Huntsman missions is always unpredictable, and while there is always risk involved with any sort of Grimm encounter, this mission was obviously inappropriate for second year students."

"We take care to select missions carefully, but with the emergent nature of this search-and-rescue mission, we did not have time to investigate first," said Grey.

Qymia cleared her throat. "I know you all are worried, and we won't keep you long, but we feel it is necessary to emphasize that from what we understand, you all took the appropriate actions."

"Exactly," said Ozpin. "I need to speak with Ulger further, but quickly, over radio, he explained to me how you had summoned him when things began to get out of hand, how you prioritized keeping the hostages safe, and how you cleared the area of Grimm before tending to your teammate. All of these actions are lessons we teach daily, but are not truly instilled until you get into the field."

Qrow sat numbly, taking this in. _Blame us,_ they seemed to be saying. He was frustrated enough that he just might, but for now, he was exhausted. The fighting and the worrying left him physically and emotionally drained.

Grey stood up. "Please, try to eat some dinner, get a shower, and get some sleep. You're excused from morning classes tomorrow and you may leave campus to visit Raven. Please wait until morning, the medics need time to work. And you need sleep. We will have someone come by your room to inform you of any updates before then."

"No-"

Qrow was cut off by Taiyang. "Yes, Professor Grey. Thank you."

Qrow glared at Taiyang who glared back until Qrow looked away. Summer stood, grabbing both of their arms and pulling them towards the elevator.

Qrow slept well, and woke ashamed at himself for resting so comfortably while his sister…. He sighed and wiped the sleep from his eyes. _His sister might be dead._ Taiyang and Summer were dressed and looked rested as well. Qrow realized they had all been extremely exhausted. They got coffee and a light breakfast from the dining hall, and walked toward the infirmary on the south side of town.

They stepped into the hospital, and Qrow realized it was the first time he had done so in his entire life. Growing up, when someone was sick or injured, they would go to the village doctor, if there was one, or they would be tended to by friends and family at home. There were a lot of deaths from infections, shock, and winter sicknesses growing up.

The receptionist directed them to the second floor, and the ward entrance read "Grimm Trauma". Qrow shuddered. The ward was a calming gray color, with soft lights and little noise. Raven's room was towards the end. It had an east-facing window that looked out towards a small forest. Raven was laying in the bed, unmoving, an array of tubes, wires, and machines connected to her. Her gown was open around the sternum, where the wound was packed with bandages yet still bleeding through.

"You must be Miss Branwen's teammates," said a male voice from behind them. They turned to see a tall, blue-haired man in a labcoat. "I'm Dr. Oates, her physician."

"What's going on with my sister?" Qrow demanded. He saw Summer look at him in concern.

"Oh, twins as well? Wish I'd known that last night when we were looking for blood donors for a transfusion."

Qrow rolled up his sleeve and stuck out his arm.

Oates smiled. "We got blood from Mr. Ulger, actually, but I will keep you in mind if her wound continues to bleed."

"Is she… going to be alright?" asked Summer, her voice higher than usual in pitch.

Oates nodded. "The blood loss was our biggest concern. King Taijitu like to eat their victims alive, so their venom usually doesn't kill. It is, however, a neurotoxin, and hurts like a bitch."

Qrow caught Taiyang's eye. Tai smiled slightly. Oates continued. "We're keeping her sedated for now. Each time she wakes, she's in too much pain and we have to put her out again."

"How long until that stuff clears?" asked Qrow.

The doctor shrugged. "A couple days until she'll be able to come out of the induced coma, probably. A couple weeks until the pain fades completely. And then there's the matter of that wound healing up…. But, you're here now, please, take your time and visit. I'll be in my office down the hall. Call for a nurse if you need anything."

Somewhat awkwardly, they sat in the chairs beside the bed. Summer stayed standing, and pushed Raven's hair from her face. "She'd never let me do this if she was awake," she said quietly. Her fingers caught on the tubes delivering oxygen to Raven's nose. She adjusted the tubing back into place calmly. She closed Raven's gown, to cover the blood-stained bandages on her chest. She sat down beside Qrow, and the three of them sat in silence.

...

a/n: Sorry I've been slow to update. Jessica Jones season 2 came out and had me distracted all week. Please leave a review if you've been enjoying the story. I kind of have a plan for the plot but I'd like to hear suggestions, too.


	14. Chapter 14

Warning: A fair bit of swearing this chapter!

Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.  
Do not go gentle into that good night.  
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.  
 _-Do not go gentle into that good night,_ Dylan Thomas

Chapter 14: A Pain

"Fuck." Raven awoke, drowsy and slow, aware only that she was in a tremendous amount of pain. Her chest throbbed achingly, but what really bothered her was her head. She felt a tremendous, pulsing pressure, as if all of her nerves were firing at once. "Fuck," she swore again.

She felt tears roll down her cheeks. She was never one to cry, especially not because of pain, but this pain was _different._ The tears were instinctive, unstoppable. _Please, put me out again,_ she thought.

"Doctor, she's awake," she heard someone say. _Doctor… she was in a hospital?_

"Miss Branwen, how are you feeling?" A man spoke this time. Raven tried to turn her head to see his face, but even the thought of moving made the pain worse. Her hands shook. She felt as though she might vomit.

"Please." She spoke slowly, head imploding with each syllable. "Put. Me. Out."

 _Thy will be done._ She felt a tugging at her arm as they presumably administered some drug. Blissfully, she fell back into sleep.

When she woke again, she was unsure of how much time had passed. She didn't know the date, or long it had been since she'd been struck by that snake. She didn't know where she was. The worst part was, she had a feeling that this had all been explained to her, but she'd forgotten.

The headache was still splitting, but not so much that she couldn't take it. It was reassuring that she could be sedated again upon request. She felt a weight in her hand and jerked it, since that was easier than turning her head. Still, a jolt of pain rushed from her temples to the back of her skull at the movement. "Damn it."

"Raven?"

She knew that voice. Taiyang was sitting beside her, and based on her hearing, he was sitting in a position that meant the weight in her hand was likely _his_ hand. "Hurts." She could only manage to speak a little. Waves of pain wracked her head, ran down her neck and into distant joints. "Fuck," she whispered.

Taiyang laughed. "I'm sorry," he said, quieting. "But that's all you've said for days!"

Raven could feel herself blushing. She wasn't sure if it was from embarrassment or from the little squeeze Tai gave her hand as he said this.

"So, what's it like? Surviving a King Taijitu stabbing?"

Raven could feel him tracing patterns on the back of her hand. She was still too exhausted and in pain to move her hand. Or maybe, she liked it…. "It hurts. Like a bitch," she said. He laughed a little. The thrumming in her head was growing intolerable. Her hand began to tremble. _Don't fucking cry in front of Tai,_ she warned herself.

"Hey, want me to get the nurse?"

"Yeah."

She woke up again, and Qrow and Summer were there.

She woke again, Tai.

She woke again, all of them.

She woke again, Ozpin.

"Good afternoon, Miss Branwen."

Raven turned to look at him. She was feeling much better lately. She was still unsure of how much time had passed. "Hello," she said. Her voice was low and ragged, and she realized she was parched.

"Water?" asked Ozpin, holding up a cup.

"No, I'll wait," she said. It would hurt her pride too much to have the strange headmaster offering her sips of water when she was too weak to help herself.

"Certainly. I'm glad to see you're doing well. Dr. Oates says you can return to the Academy this weekend, though you may need a few extra days before you return to class."

Raven nodded. She wasn't sure what day it was, and so she wasn't sure how far away 'this weekend' was. "Why are you here?" she asked. She got the impression Ozpin wasn't exactly fond of her, so she figured he wasn't here just to deliver news of her discharge.

"I would like to apologize. I already spoke to your teammates about the mission, but you were here at that time."

"Don't."

"I'm sorry?" he asked.

Raven sighed, but inside she was a little happy to see that she had caught the headmaster off guard. "Don't apologize. You probably think the mission was too hard for us or that we shouldn't have been separated from that Huntsman, but that's bullshit. Why are we here if we're just going to be careful all the time?"

"There's a time and a place for carefulness," Ozpin said. "And I certainly think the first 'real' mission a team goes on should be carefully planned."

Raven tried to prop herself up in bed, but was defeated by the weakness in her arms and the sudden shooting pain in her head. She exhaled slowly. "I'm sorry, Professor. I spoke out," she said. To her annoyance, instead of leaving, Ozpin sat down. She could no longer see him from the angle she was at, but she was in too much pain to move.

"I am curious, Raven, about yourself and Qrow."

"Why?"

"For many reasons. You are siblings and partners who can communicate without speaking, you are both strong fighters, you got into Beacon without attending a combat school, you have _red_ eyes."

"Red eyes?"

"It's not that the eyes themselves are special," he said. "It's just that there's a rare few bloodlines throughout Remnant with that trait. I'm not here to pry, but if you'd like to talk,"

"I wouldn't."

Ozpin stood. "Very well. I shall see you again once you return to the school. I wish you a speedy recovery."

"Have a good evening."

Ozpin left, and Raven called for the nurse. She drank two cups of water, and even managed to get down some soup. She'd eaten scarcely since she arrived, and when the pain was bad, she ended up vomiting. She couldn't remember if her teammates had been there, but she hoped they hadn't been.

She looked at herself, now that she had some more freedom of movement. Her chest still had a large wound, but it was beginning to fill in. The bandages covered up most of the gore, but she pulled them back to peek below. The wound was an ugly purple color. _This will leave a hideous scar,_ she realized. The veins on the underside of her arms appeared purple. The doctor explained this was a side effect of the venom and would eventually fade.

Her arms and legs were thinner than she remembered, and feeling them, she realized she lost muscle tone. _Like hell am I going to let the others get ahead of me in combat,_ she thought. Already, she was planning training regimens in her head. She'd make Qrow spar long into the evenings.

She thought about Qrow's face when he had visited. Perhaps he had visited several times, but she only remembered the one time, when he was there with Summer. He had looked guilty, ashamed, as if this was his fault. If Raven could have moved, she would have slapped him. She knew how the conversation would go…

" _Brother, this is due to my own negligence. I have much room to improve."_

" _It was my Semblance, and my poor defense."_

" _There was no way you could have done anything from your position."_

" _I could have_ warned _you!"_

She wondered if this conversation _had_ taken place. She would sort things out with Qrow. If he thought he would get rid of her that easily, he had another thing coming. She supposed she could ask Summer to spar with her. Or Tai….

Dr. Oates' prediction had been correct, and three days later, on Saturday morning, she left the hospital. Her team came to escort her back to Beacon. Summer brought her a pair of jeans and a tank, and a worn-down pair of boots. She wished she had something with sleeves, since the muscle tone in her arms had disappeared. And maybe something with a higher neckline to hide the large wound in her chest and back.

They walked back to campus jovially. "Everyone's been asking after you," Summer said. "They're excited you're coming back!"

"Everyone? Summer, come on, I don't have any friends besides you three."

"Oh, that's not true, there's Barty, and Glynda, and Yarrow! And Cooke and Rudy… and Gilles,"

"Summer, those last few were just people who want my sister to be their girlfriend," Qrow snorted.

"And Yarrow, I think he just misses having someone it takes longer than thirty seconds to beat!" Tai laughed. "I gave it my best shot and lasted twenty-five."

Raven smiled, despite the dull, never-ending headache. Her team's silly banter reminded her of school days at Beacon, with her favorite classes and meals and her bed… oh! She missed her bed.

"What should we do when we get back?" Tai asked. "Ice cream? Hiking? I think there's a carnival tonight."

"There is!" said Summer.

"With a beer tent!" added Qrow.

"Uh, I'm kinda tired, I think I'm going to take a nap." Raven bit her lip. She hated disappointing her teammates, but even this walk was tiring her.

"Yeah, of course, I'm sorry. I'm sure you're exhausted." said Summer.

"But tonight, we could go to the carnival, if it's open late?" she proposed.

"Definitely! There's fireworks!" Taiyang looked so excited that Raven told herself she _had_ to be up to go, if only to not let him down.

Taiyang and Summer began some strange partners-only conversation about the best food stalls, and Qrow hung back to walk beside Raven. "You ok?" he asked.

"Fine. Just frustrated I'm so weak."

"Yeah, well, at least you're alive."

"Yes, that is true. Hey… Ozpin came to see me," she said, lowering her voice.

"Why?" asked Qrow. Raven knew Qrow felt the same strange vibes about Ozpin as she did.

"I'm not sure. He said something about not many people in Remnant having red eyes, and said he was _curious_ about you and me."

"That's… strange. Summer said he said something about _her_ eyes as well."

Raven wasn't sure what to think of this. "Oh, by the way, I'm going to need you to try to kick my ass in sparring for the next month, until I get back into form."

"The words every little brother prays he'll one day hear," Qrow teased. "Don't worry, sis, I think I'll enjoy this one." He playfully shoved her and she stumbled a few steps, hoping Summer and Tai wouldn't notice. "Holy shit, you are weak!" The look of guilt returned.

"Shush, I don't want everyone to know. If you feel bad about this, you will work hard to get me back into peak combat form."

Qrow nodded. "Sure."

Happy that things between herself and Qrow had been somewhat settled, Raven fell into a deep sleep once they returned to the dorm. She had a strange dream, where she was in the forest, and climbed into a tree to survey some Grimm below, and Tai was there, and he moved her hair out of her face and leaned his face in toward hers….

"Raven!" Summer was shaking her. "Sorry to wake you, but it's time to head out!"

Raven sat up. Cinnamon was cuddled beside her. The sky was dark outside the dormitory window. She quickly slipped on a jacket, brushed out her hair, and put on a bit of eyeliner. She wasn't sure why she made the effort. She followed Summer downstairs, where the boys were not-so-surreptitiously sipping beers stuffed into socks below the statue. "Ladies," said Tai, greeting them. Qrow elbowed him.

"Let's go," Qrow slurred, slipping his arm into Raven's.

She shook her head at her hammered brother, guiding him towards the glowing lights of the festival. "Come on, big boy," she teased.

Once they got to the carnival, Qrow disappeared into the crowd, emerging with four beers. "Hold on, I gotta take my other sock off," he said.

"I'll take my chances on getting caught, thanks," said Raven.

"Oh, a Ferris Wheel! Can we go?" Summer practically squealed as she saw the ride.

"I'll pass, I'm not feeling up to it," said Raven. A stuffed rabbit at a nearby game stall caught her eye.

"My lady, let us go!" said Qrow, ushering Summer to the line for the ride.

"I'll wait here too," said Taiyang. As the other two disappeared in the line, he grabbed Raven's arm, sitting her down at the game stall. "Watch this," he said. It was a shooting game, and Taiyang paid the game's attendant and picked up the gun. He aimed carefully, taking down all five Grimm figures in six shots.

"Your choice," said the attendant, gesturing to the prizes. "I really ought to make this game harder when I come to the Huntsmen Academies," he murmured.

"Which do you want?" asked Tai. "I can't be caught dead with a stuffed animal, so you better pick one."

"The gray rabbit, please," she said, blushing. She was weak and sure to be slow in combat. She didn't have her weapon. She was holding a stuffed rabbit and wearing eyeliner. Raven felt distinctly out of place.

Summer and Qrow returned, Tricia and Glynda in tow. "Aww," cooed Glynda, looking with some jealousy at the prize.

"I'll win you one, babe," said Tricia, in a fairly good impression of Qrow. They all laughed, then congratulated Tricia as she hit down all the targets in five shots. The attended looked put-out. Glynda was soon holding a matching pink rabbit.

"Come on, the fireworks are going to start!" said Summer, ushering them towards a nearby hilltop.

"Thanks for the rabbit," Raven said quietly, walking up the hill beside Taiyang.

"Sure. I'm glad I could do something to cheer you up." He grabbed her hand.

She pulled it away, surprised. "What-"

"Sorry," said Tai, looking flustered. "You just seemed tired, and I didn't want you to trip."

"Oh, um, I'm fine," she said, but she slipped her hand back into his nonetheless.

"Holy shit," said Yarrow, who was already on the hilltop.

They turned around to see dozens of fireworks in brilliant colors exploding above them. For a moment, to Raven, everything seemed perfect as she watched the display, surrounded by her team and their friends, holding the silly rabbit in one hand and Tai's hand in the other. She felt _pretty,_ and that thought didn't disgust her as much as she thought it would.


	15. Chapter 15

Hope is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul,

And sings the tune without the words,

And never stops at all,

 _-Hope Is the Thing with Feathers_ , Emily Dickinson

Chapter 15: An Education

 _Fall Semester, Year 3_

Tai breathed in the summer air as he stepped off the airship. He had spent the summer with his family in Vacuo, at his father's behest. It was true, he stayed in Beacon the summer after his first year, so he hadn't been home for more than a long weekend since he began.

He'd had a good time back home, helping his father at the shop, eating home-cooked meals from his mother, and generally relaxing. He even got to play the hero by slaying two Beowolves who wandered too close to the town. One night his uncle came by, and over a beer, Taiyang shared the story of Team STRQ's first mission and the King Taijitu.

"So a girl from your team survived it too?" his uncle asked, pulling up his shorts to show the scar on his thigh.

Taiyang's father, who was also with them, looked displeased at the danger his son was in.

Taiyang nodded. "She was out of it for a while, and man, did it look painful, but she bounced back to beat the guy at the top of our class in one on one sparring finals."

"Sounds like an interesting lady," his uncle said.

"She is. She's… kind of my girlfriend."

Taiyang's mother popped her head up from the book she was reading on the porch swing. "Tai, dear, did you say you had a girlfriend?"

Taiyang blushed. "Yeah, I do."

After that, there were dozens of questions about Raven, Qrow, and Summer, which Taiyang tried to answer. It had been frustrating, however, that he was unable to tell his family exactly where the twins came from, or what their upbringing had been like, or what their ambitions were. He'd always chalked it up to them being secretive people, but once he was describing them to his family, it felt more like they had something to hide.

He spoke more about Summer, who's parents and sister and dog and dreams he knew well, and after all, she was his partner.

"Why not date this Summer, then?" asked Tai's father, sipping his beer.

"Because, I don't know. Because I'm dating Raven." He knew it was kind of a crappy answer, but he didn't have a better one. Ever since the mission with Ulger, he felt compelled to grow closer to Raven. And Summer seemed to encourage him, if anything. Tai knew Qrow wasn't fond of his relationship with Raven, but was relieved Tai was no longer flip-flopping on both girls.

Now, back at Beacon, Tai walked back to the dormitory, hoping Summer had returned before him. Term started the next day, so she should be back from visiting her parents. He didn't want to go back to the room to just see the twins, as much as he missed Raven. As he walked up the stairs, he had another strange feeling… why hadn't Qrow and Raven returned home, in all the time since school started years ago?

"No Grimm studies," he heard Summer complaining as he approached the room. "But we do have Career Planning, Team Combat 3, Sparring 3, and Remnant Conflicts."

"Ugh, Remnant Conflicts is going to put me to sleep," said Qrow. "They'll probably leave out most of the _real_ conflicts too. Nothing interesting happens in the kingdoms."

Tai swung the door open. "Alright, tell us about your wastelands adventures," he said.

Qrow laughed. "Tai, not everything outside the kingdoms is a wasteland," he said.

"But we did kind of come from one," Raven teased. "Hello, Tai." She leaned down to straighten out her skirt, and Taiyang caught a glimpse of the scar that still stood out on her chest.

"Hello, everyone, hope you guys had as awesome of a break as I did!"

"We were just talking about the reports for that summer assignment," Summer said. "I did mine on combat tactics with portals," she added, glancing to Raven. "Raven was a huge help."

Taiyang felt his face drain of color and could hear his heartbeat in his ears. Yes, he did vaguely remember the summer report on a research topic of their choice….

"Mine was a case study comparing sword vs scythe encounters," said Qrow.

"He fought Grimm then wrote down what weapon he used," said Raven, smirking. "I did mine on battle adjustments for cold climates. I think it will help us in the Vytal Festival next semester."

"Holy shit, I forgot!" said Tai.

"About the assignment, or the Vytal Festival?" asked Summer.

"Both?" asked Tai, beaming innocently.

"Damn it," swore Qrow, laughing. "He's going to get our team in detention before the semester starts."

"We'll help you pull something together tonight," assured Summer. "But let's get something to eat first. I want to bring my weapon to the training room, too, it takes up too much space in our room."

They grabbed their weapons and walked across the lawn to the dining hall, comfortably warm in the late summer sun. "Look, said Qrow, lazily, "little freshmen!"

It was true, dozens of new students were trekking back from the south, presumably from orientation in the Emerald Forest. They looked tired and haggard, but pleased with themselves and their successful entry into Beacon. Team STRQ stood outside and watched them pass, curious about the new underclassmen.

There was a cute sheep faunus girl, Taiyang saw, and another set of twins, this pair both male. There was also a boy messing with some sort of high tech weapon, and a girl who might have been Tricia's little sister.

"Hey, hold up," said one of the boys, who looked to be rather ordinary. "Zachary, come look at this!" The boy who spoke, the one called Zachary, and another boy who was presumably the first boy's partner walked up to Tai and his teammates.

"Something seems familiar about them," he said, gesturing towards the twins.

"Can we help you?" asked Summer, sounding kind but also a little concerned.

"Benson, what is it?" asked the partner.

Benson, who looked rather scruffy in oversized clothes, carried a long rifle, which he slung casually over his shoulder. "I think I know these two."

Zachary, who was skinny with a missing front tooth, carried some sort of chain-whip. "Shit, B, I think you're right. I remember _her._ " He pointed at Raven.

"Care to tell the rest of us what the fuck you're talking about?" asked Tai. He did not care for these dumb kids referring to his girlfriend in this manner, but he was also curious to ascertain what they knew of the Branwen twins.

"Your teammates, they didn't tell you what their folks do for work, did they?" asked Benson with a sly smile on his face.

"Watch your mouth, boy," said Raven, her fingers reaching for her weapon. Qrow had stood up straight, and no longer looked just casually interested, though his weapon stayed tucked away.

"Oh Grimm, they don't know shit," said Benson, eyeing Summer and Tai, who both had looks of desperate confusion on their faces.

"Your dear teammates are from a band of savage bandits. They raid villages, thieving, burning, _stealing children,_ and killing anyone, Huntsman or otherwise, who gets in their way," said Zachary.

Raven's eyes glowed with rage, but she did not deny any of this. Qrow rested his hand on her shoulder, holding her back. "Where did you get this information?" he asked the boys.

"I fucking _saw_ it," said Benson, his eyes wild. "I watched _her_ burn down my nan's house, and I think I saw you taking what wasn't yours. Three Huntsmen and Huntresses died that night."

"We're from River Chasm," said Zachary, spitting. "Everyone in that corner of Anima knows the fucking Erres'l Tribe."

Raven looked to be trembling from anger. Even Qrow was reaching for his weapon. Summer mirrored Tai, and seemed to be stuck frozen in place. Tai felt his chest tighten as he thought about everything these boys were saying. Qrow and Raven came from a bandit tribe that pillaged and killed Huntsmen? It was surreal. Yet it would explain their secrecy and why they never visited home.

"It leads one to wonder if you came here with pure intentions," said Benson.

Raven moved first, with Qrow behind her. Weapons out, they charged at the boys. "Not making a great case," Zachary teased, as his aura took a blow from Qrow's scythe.

Raven moved swiftly, striking at Benson with rapid sword strokes. His movements looked sloppy in comparison, and he tried to aim the rifle. His aura was depleted quickly, and he fell back on the grass, dazed. His nameless partner took his place, this one using a rapier. It was obvious that he didn't even understand why he was fighting, but he was the obligatory second for a partner he just made.

Raven took down the partner as Qrow finished with Zachary, just as Professor Grey entered the quad. Face stern, she ran to investigate the fight, pushing through the other first years who had lingered to observe the scuffle. "You four," she said, pointing to some onlookers, "take these boys to the infirmary. It's that building on the right, turn left. You, Team STRQ," she said, turning to them with eyes filled with disappointment, "Come with me."

"No." Raven's head was dropped, and she was tracing lines in the dirt with her shoe.

"Miss Branwen, you _cannot_ tell me no."

"No. This is just Qrow and I. Summer and Taiyang were not involved."

"You are all on the same-" Grey's words died as Raven raised her face to look the professor in the eye. Even despite his feelings of betrayal, Taiyang's heart felt heavy watching her face. Raven, tough, unstoppable, emotionless Raven was _crying,_ and Qrow looked equally distraught.

"Very well, you two please come with me."

"Please," said Summer, looking past Grey at Raven and Qrow. "Please let us come."

Raven looked down again, and shook her head.

"We'll fill you in, I promise," said Qrow, before turning away to follow his sister and Grey to Ozpin's office.

"What the fuck was that?" asked Taiyang. Summer didn't respond, and Tai looked at his partner. She was the one trembling now, with tears threatening to spill over. Despite the fact that Summer was practically a ball of emotions compared to Raven, Tai had never seen her cry before.

"Sum, come on now."

"I-" The tears broke, and Summer looked away. "Let's go to the training room," she said.

He followed her underground, and they sat on the benches among the lockers. They were alone. Summer sighed, wiping her eyes.

"What the hell!" said Tai, shaking his eyes. "I always knew. I always knew there was something about them that was… unsavory, but I couldn't imagine the secret being this despicable!"

Summer sniffed. "Do you really mean that?"

"What do you mean? You aren't angry? You aren't disgusted?"

Summer looked at Taiyang with such a look of incomprehension that Taiyang felt ashamed of himself. "People can't choose their families, Tai. Of course I'm angry, but I'm angry that they didn't tell me. Was it because they thought I wouldn't understand?"

"Summer, I mean, fine, you can't choose your family, but I mean you can choose not to burn down an old lady's house and take her things!"

Summer sighed, exasperated. "Maybe you didn't have a choice if you wanted to have any respect! They obviously made the decision to get out of that lifestyle to better themselves!"

Taiyang stood. He needed to pace. He couldn't think. "Maybe. Or maybe they came here to get better at killing people."

Summer stood too. Tai turned to face her and she slapped him. Hard.

"What the fuck, Sum?" he asked her, rubbing his cheek.

She was crying again. "That's your girlfriend you're talking about! Those are our teammates! I trust them with my life!"

Taiyang didn't have an appropriate response to this.

Summer sat back down. "I… If I knew, I mean, when they met my family… what was going through their heads?"

No longer hungry, they stashed their weapons and went back to the room. Taiyang didn't even bother trying to pull together a last minute report. He probably wouldn't even have a team by the next morning.

They sat in near silence, waiting for Qrow and Raven to return. Summer made hot cocoa, which they drank distractedly, and eventually she broke out a secret stash of chocolate chip cookies. Tai scarfed several down. He had missed dinner, after all.

Once he calmed down some, he realized that both his and Summer's reactions were extreme, and the appropriate response was probably somewhere in the middle- that is, if there _was_ an appropriate response to learning your closest friends were raised by violent bandits.

He didn't think that Qrow and Raven were complete victims of circumstance. They were definitely confident fighters, excellent thieves, and very clever. They were professionals at turning a situation to their favor. He wondered if they could turn the current situation around. It was enough if they could manage to avoid being expelled, he supposed.

He did have to admit, of course, that he overreacted in the heat of the moment. Qrow and Raven _almost definitely_ did not kill anyone themselves, and while they did beat up first years, they had been taunted pretty terribly. He felt a little badly that he hadn't come to their defense. He thought of Raven's face, emotionally distraught, and he felt guilty. He laid back on the bed, sighing. Cinnamon began nibbling on his hair.

"Oh Cinna, what are we gonna do?" he mused.

"Hey, listen!" Summer said. A moment later, he heard it. Footsteps coming down the hallway. Footsteps he definitely recognized.

The door opened slowly to reveal the twins.

Summer ran up to them, throwing her arms around them both. She looked at them with desperate curiosity.

"Not expelled," Raven assured her quietly. She did not look in Taiyang's direction.

"What happened?" Summer implored.

Qrow stuck his hands in his pockets. "Um. I can turn into a bird now?"

* * *

a/n: Heyyyyy! Let me know what you think so far :) This story is getting views, but 15 chapters in, only a few people have left comments. Feel free to include things you want me to touch on/ideas for the story!


	16. Chapter 16

O! well done! I commend your pains,

And every one shall share i' the gains.

And now about the cauldron sing,

Like elves and fairies in a ring,

Enchanting all that you put in.

By the pricking of my thumbs,

Something wicked this way comes.

 _-Macbeth,_ William Shakespeare

* * *

Chapter 16: A Magic

Qrow followed Grey to Ozpin's office, Raven behind him. She walked a little more quickly so that she was beside him. _I'm sorry I caused a scene,_ she told him without words.

 _So did I._ He shrugged.

He could see she was trembling, likely a combination of adrenaline and a wave of emotions. _I… killed,_ she mouthed.

Qrow shrugged again. "Don't worry about that," he said aloud. Grey turned to check on them, her eyes shooting daggers. They got back into single line formation.

As far as Qrow knew, Raven had killed two people. First was a man in blue pajamas with a huge gun who was shooting at the tribe as they invaded. Once he ran out of ammunition, he turned to Qrow, who was coming in for a tackle, and knocked him out with a good hit from the back of the gun. When Qrow came to, the man was dead, stabbed in the heart.

Second was Arthur, who was a tribe member a few years older than them. They had been friends. Arthur was bleeding out in a foreign town, and there was no way he could travel back to the tribe's location in his state. "Please," he said to Qrow. "They'll torture me!" Qrow drew his sword, hands trembling, chaos around them.

Qrow was paralyzed. "I… can't." he choked out.

"Please, it hurts, just end it!" Arthur was sweating, a dark puddle below him.

"I…"

Raven's sword came down, swift and clean across Arthur's neck. Qrow hadn't even seen her approach. He threw up, using his sword to hold himself upright. By the time he righted himself, Raven had left the scene, and they'd never discussed it since. Qrow knew his sister had bloodied her hands twice _for him,_ and he didn't take that kind of debt lightly.

The walk to Ozpin's office was long enough for Qrow to consider Summer and Tai. Were they upset? _Of course they are, idiot,_ he cursed at himself. _Well, with any luck, they won't have to deal with us anymore,_ he reasoned. They rode the elevator in silence.

They emerged in the strange office for the second time in their time at Beacon. The huge gears continued to move, predictable and reliable. Qrow felt very volatile in comparison. Qrow wished Summer and Tai were here. He didn't realize until this very moment how comforting it was to have a team. Having Raven here was much better than being alone, but having two more members would make things better still.

They sat in the chairs facing Ozpin's desk. This time, Grey did not make tea. She sat off to the side, notebook and pen in hand.

"Mr. and Miss Branwen. To what do I owe the pleasure? And before the new term…."

The twins sat, stone-faced and silent. Qrow considered explaining themselves, but out of respect for Raven, he did not.

"They attacked three first year students," Grey said. "They're all in the infirmary."

"Hmm. A random attack on first year students?"

Still, they sat in silence.

"I don't want to resort to threats, but unfortunately, your enrollment at Beacon relies on you explaining yourselves and explaining yourselves well. That may, unfortunately, mean that you need to tell me a little bit about your past."

Raven gave Qrow a glance that he knew would be imperceptible to anyone else in the room. _You talk,_ she said. As much as Qrow didn't want to talk, he felt that this was a much better idea than letting his sister explain. Perhaps she thought so as well.

"We were born in a village on the border of Mistral and Anima. I think it was called Walden. It was in the mountains. We were about five when slavers attacked. They set Grimm on the village and collected women and children. It was a miracle Raven and I were not separated."

Qrow cleared his throat. He hated Ozpin's serene gaze and the sound of Grey scribbling in the notebook. "Anyway, we never saw our parents again. There was a lot of… shitty stuff that happened in the slaver camp." He glanced at his sister, but she was looking away. "And then one night, it all happened again. The raids, the fires, fighting, people hauling us off. But that time, we ended up with the Erres'l Tribe."

Qrow noticed Grey's eyes turn dark at this revelation. She must have heard the reputation the tribe had. "I know what you're thinking," he said, looking at her, "But years ago, the tribe was different. They traveled around Anima, raiding slavers camps, thieving from murderers and bandits, never attacking the innocent. And, well, they're our _family._ "

"And what, exactly, was your role in the tribe?" Ozpin asked. The question was probing, but Ozpin didn't look particularly nefarious, like he was trying to accuse them of something.

"We were children in the beginning, so at first we just helped around the camp, travelled each time the tribe moved, raised livestock." Qrow thought of Raven's rabbits. "As we got older we had more formal lessons, and well… some training in fighting. We were out in Anima, after all." He didn't feel the need to explain that they had grown up fighting, that it was something second nature to anyone who had grown up in an environment such as theirs.

"Eventually they took us on raids." Raven spoke now, much to Qrow's surprise. "We helped them gather supplies from villages."

"You mean pillaging and thieving? Murdering, perhaps?" asked Grey. Qrow looked at her, upset by her attitude. She had always been their most level-headed professor, but now she seemed quite emotional.

"Claudette, please, let them speak," said Ozpin.

"I cannot lie. I have killed," said Raven, "But please understand it was a normal part of the culture we grew up in."

"Then why come to Beacon?" asked Grey.

"Because," Raven continued. "We need to be able to defend the tribe from Grimm. Because, maybe, the _pillaging_ life wasn't for us. And because there's something _else_ going on, isn't there?" she asked, eyes on Ozpin.

Qrow had no idea what Raven was talking about, but he thought suddenly of that man in the bar- of _Grimm Genesis,_ L. Malone, of the White Witch-

"It's true- there's more than meets the eye," said Ozpin.

Grey looked at the professor. "Certainly you don't intend to-"

"There is more than meets the eye, but the whole truth is still not known, even to those at the top."

"Is that you, then?" asked Raven.

Qrow sat in silence, too stunned to speak.

"I wouldn't say I'm the _top,_ but I am sympathetic to those who are fighting our enemy."

"And our enemy," said Raven, speaking carefully, "That would be-"

"Salem." Qrow was certain the name he had spoke was correct.

"Boy, where did you hear that name?" Grey was on her feet, now.

"In a book. Which Summer was reading for _your_ class."

"I'm sorry, Professor Ozpin, I think it's time I retire." Grey slammed the notebook shut and walked to the back of the office to the elevator.

Ozpin continued to look placid, despite everyone else's tension. "Please excuse Professor Grey. Although she sounds harsh, it is her greatest wish that all children have the opportunity to be children, and not venture too quickly into the murky world of adults. Her outbursts are just her way of showing that."

"What of this Salem, then?" asked Raven.

Ozpin stood, looking out the large clock face window in his office towards the forest. "In due time, Raven. Unfortunately, this is a rather large secret, and not enough specifics are known to let many people in. If Salem were to find out we knew of her existence, she would only work more quickly to smite us off of Remnant."

"But you've told us this much, which means that you have to trust us a little?" asked Qrow.

"Or he has a use for us," said Raven.

"Why not both?" asked Ozpin. "And don't forget, you still owe service to the school after your outburst earlier."

Qrow had completely forgotten the original reason they were in Ozpin's office. _Punishment, right,_ he thought.

"Miss Branwen. I mentioned to you once that you and your brother have interesting eyes. And, to be entirely truthful, an interesting name to boot."

"What of it?"

"Red eyes, a meaningful clan name, they're two of the three components of the ancient magic of transformation."

" _Magic?_ " Qrow was taken aback.

"Yes, Qrow, magic. You have an aura and a semblance, is magic so much different?"

"There's no such thing-"

"What is the third element?" Rave cut her brother off, her curiosity apparently great enough to suspend her disbelief.

"A great transfer of energy."

"And I suppose you're the wise mage who can complete the ritual?" she asked, skeptical.

"I do not consider myself particularly wise, or a mage, but I'm fairly confident in my abilities," he replied, cryptic as ever.

"Please, let's slow down," said Qrow. "This conversation is all over the place. We're in trouble, Salem exists, we can help you oppose her, it's a huge secret, magic is real, you can use magic, we have some ancient proclivity for transformation?"

"That's a nice summary, yes." Ozpin sat back down. The sun had set now and the office was lit with the dull yellow glow of oil lamps. "As for your punishment, I think it would be appropriate to formally apologize to those boys, to do one week of detentions, and to at least consider helping me with the matter of Salem."

"What does helping entail?"

"Let me at least try to perform the transformation. It would prove an act of good faith, that I can trust you two."

Raven looked at Qrow, her eyes unsure. "Will… will we be able to tell Summer and Taiyang about this?" she asked. She seemed acutely aware that it was only herself, Qrow, and Ozpin in the entire tower.

Ozpin considered this. "Certainly, though for right now it's best to keep the mention of Salem to yourselves."

"I'll do it." Qrow stood up. He met Raven's eyes again. _Come on, it's win-win,_ he said without words.

"I suppose this is alright."

Ozpin moved to a dark corner of the sprawling tower room. He brought a lamp with him, and the darkness was illuminated to reveal a large platform, about six inches above the floor. Carefully, Ozpin traced markings onto the boards with a piece of chalk. He mumbled incantations here and there, and Qrow was unclear if he was practicing or actually casting something. In all honesty, Qrow doubted anything would come of this at all.

"Please, move over here," said Ozpin, pointing to a place on the platform among the markings. Qrow followed his sister onto the raised floor, her tension palpable. " _Dias mori incanadi,"_ Ozpin moved around them, his hands raised. " _Bran fen myrra, dias ona."_

The area around Ozpin's hands began to glow, but with darkness, as if a vacuum surrounded the air where he reached. For the first time, Qrow began to feel nervous. Ozpin placed a hand on each of their heads. Qrow felt cold, endlessly cold, and void, and time seemed to stop moving. He shut his eyes in a strange, innate response to his incessant shivering. The clock chimed over and over, nine times, ushering in the hour.

Slowly, Qrow opened his eyes to see that he had fallen. No, he realized, he hadn't _fallen_ , he was just low to the ground. He flapped his wings. _He flapped his wings. I just_ flapped _my fucking_ wings, he realized slowly. He fluttered over to the window ledge, and it was dark enough outside that he could see his reflection. I'm a crow. I'm an actual _crow._ He turned to look at Raven, and saw her just as she transformed back into herself. Qrow tried to do the same. He thought of himself in his human form, and something told him to make a sort of leap and so he did- and landed without grace on the hard, wooden floor.

"What the fuck?" Qrow asked his sister, who looked equally dazed.

"What the fuck." she replied back.

"Ozpin!" Qrow called out, noticing the professor in a heap against the wall. Raven walked over to inspect as well. He was alive, that was certain, just… _drained._

"He needs a healer, an aura donation, something," Qrow said.

"Well, we can't provide that. Let's go."

"What?" Qrow grabbed Raven's wrist to stop her from walking away. "We can't just _leave_ him here," he protested.

"Why? This was his choice."

"What's with you?" he said. "You didn't have to do this, no one _made_ you."

Raven pulled her hand free. "You're right, brother. This was my choice. And now it's my choice to go to bed."

With a last, pitying look at Ozpin's slumped form, Qrow followed his sister out of the tower.

They walked out into the clear evening, empty of students or professors. Qrow, feeling bold, transformed back into the crow and took off soaring. He flew over treetops, looped around the tower, swooped inches from Raven's head, and transformed back just as he approached the ground. He rolled a few times and stood up, brushing himself off.

"Your landing needs work," said Raven.

"Hey, I'm brand new at this! Why don't you try it? It's fun!"

"I don't want to. Qrow, let's just go to bed."

Qrow wasn't sure what Raven was upset about, but realized he wasn't going to dig it out of her tonight. "Let's go tell Tai and Summer that they still have the other half of their team."

Raven perked up at this suggestion. "As long as they don't hate us," she said.


	17. Chapter 17

Child  
one with the sun  
in trackless fields  
of yellow grass and thistle, scent  
of humid heavy air and the wing music  
of bees and flies.

-A.F. Moritz, _One With The Sun_

Chapter 17: A Battle

"Alright team, we're going to work smarter, not harder!" Summer tried to rally her sorry-looking team, but the TRQ in STRQ remained somewhat forlorn.

Today was the qualifying tournament for the Vytal Festival, and STRQ had barely managed to beat a team of second years, a year below themselves, in the first round. Now they sat on the lawns outside of the team contests, cooling off.

"Ayyyy!" called Qrow after a delay. Summer knew for a fact that he had been at Tricia's the night before, and that their on-again/off-again relationship was currently very on.

"Are you hungover? Qrowpernicus, we talked about this!"

Taiyang managed a laugh at Summer's invented proper name for Qrow. "What's the plan, chief?"

"Well, plan A was to use a little avian power, but Qrow told me that Ozpin says to keep that a secret."

Raven spit as Summer voiced Ozpin's name. She was looking at the scoreboards of the other teams, and generally not meeting Summer's concerned gazes. Ever since that night when Raven and Qrow had gotten into the fight with the first years - when their upbringing was revealed to Summer and Tai - Raven had been more aloof than usual. When Qrow explained about the transformation powers Ozpin conferred to the twins, Summer and Taiyang were curious and excited, but Raven just seemed upset by it. Summer hadn't had a chance to talk to her teammate yet.

"Plan B then?" asked Taiyang.

Summer shook her head to clear her negative thoughts. Now was not the time to be worrying about team dynamics… or maybe it was. Either way, there was no time. There was less than a half hour before their next match.

"Plan B is working smart. Which also involves working hard. Since it's the second round, if we can beat the other team without any of us getting eliminated, we automatically get a spot on the Festival roster. So whoever we're matched up with, we need to trounce. No conserving energy for the next rounds."

Qrow seemed to mirror his sister's unhappiness after hearing this plan. "And what if someone does get eliminated?"

Summer realized he was concerned about his semblance. "We won't! We're the coolest team in Beacon, and to get eliminated would be super uncool." Summer hoped her enthusiasm didn't sound forced. Although she was glad to be STRQ's leader, she sometimes found it difficult to bring unity to the group. Usually Tai was on her side, but even he seemed uneasy about this plan.

"Summer, there's a lot riding on one match. What if it doesn't work and we're too tired to keep going?'

"It will work. Do you trust me as team leader?"

Finally, Raven looked at Summer. "Let's do it," she said. Summer hadn't expected Raven to be the first to agree, but she would take anyone who would back her plan. Normally she didn't like being risky, but strategically, this was the best method.

What felt like mere minutes later, they were once again standing in the team combat arena. Raven was making adjustments to her weapon, while Qrow and Tai horsed around. It was Summer who spotted the matchup announcement first. In bold, glowing letters, the screen read: Team STRQ vs. Team ZSTY. The others noticed a moment later as the students and teachers watching cheered in excitement.

Team ZSTY were fourth years, and top of their class in combat. Their team was made up of Zeke, Yarrow's older brother, Sara, a chain-whip wielding slender girl, Teak, a muscular guy with a magician's hat, and Yaya, a violent girl with some long-range explosives.

"Shit."

"What's plan C?"

Summer shook her head as the boys complained. "We're going with plan B. We're going to win. No will is going to be eliminated. We're going to the Vytal Festival. Now we have ten minutes to strategize, let's think."

"What should the matchups be?" asked Qrow.

"I'm not sure. I think they may be matching up with us, so it might just be best to go along with that."

"But isn't that playing to their strengths?" asked Tai.

"I think we should work with our partners. Cover each other's backs. That way, they have to fight two of us together. And we can get between them and split them up. And I think that overall, it's important that all four of us support each other. This is non four one-on-one matches, this is a _team_ combat scenario."

"And we have loads of team bonding to back us up… on my count, it's sixteen detentions, two in school suspensions, 24 Grimm obliterated, and we're 16 and 3 in team combat matchups." Taiyang grinned as his spurted out facts.

"Attention, everyone," boomed an announcer's voice. Summer was almost certain it was Professor Lundy, an old mage with a fascination with tactics. "Today is a most interesting matchup, Team STRQ vs. Team ZSTY. We are in the elimination round now, and please remember that any team to win this round without a single elimination has a ticket to the Vytal Festival! Teams who win the match, but suffer the elimination of a teammate must fight in the third round to secure a spot. Now, let's begin!"

The terrain did not change like it did during the real Vytal Festival, but it was not like a normal team combat class scenario either. The teachers had combined their powers to create a makeshift arena, with high and low bouldered areas, a deep pit of water, and a ring of dense forest cutting through the center. It was not dynamic, but Summer found it very fun.

"Raven, you and Qrow take the low areas, Tai and I will work from above."

"Teams ready?" asked Professor Ozpin, from his seat in the teacher's box. Both teams nodded. "Then you may begin!"

Immediately, a bomb detonated in the pool of water, soaking everyone. In the ensuing confusion, team ZSTY moved out. Summer climbed the closest wall of boulders.

"Fuck!" called Qrow. Summer couldn't see him since he was below the rock ledge she was standing on. "That goddamn chain-whip is electrified!"

So that meant Sara was down there. Summer spotted Teak, mounting the shelf of rock she and Tai were standing on. He reached into his hat and pulled out an assault rifle. "Oh, no you don't!" called Tai, running in to strike at him close with his kama, the mini sickles swiping at nothing. "What?" he asked, confused, before the spot where he was standing blew up, blasting dust everywhere, blinding Summer.

"Tai!" Summer, called, running closer. Teak must have a semblance that generates illusions, Summer realized. Tai stood, coughing, and pointed towards the edge of the forest. "There!" he said, referring to Yaya. Summer saw Raven locked in an intense battle with Zeke, nearly back-to-back with her brother as he fought Sara. They really were remarkable fighting together.

"I bet he's gone in the other direction," Summer mumbled. "Do we split up, or do we both take down Yaya?"

"Or, plan C, we go help Qrow and Raven?"

Summer jumped down into a hidden area of rocks and initiated her semblance. She would need to be quiet, since at the moment she could only hide herself visually, or mute noises. Once she was invisible, she moved closer to the twins, projecting her semblance onto them. Summer's semblance allowed her to "see" Qrow and Raven, even though no one else could. The twins took advantage of this boost to do some damage to each of their opponents.

"What is this?!" asked Lundy. "Team STRQ is still in the game, but they've disappeared! Oh, no, Mr. Xiao Long is there, then he's…"

Increasing his gravity to fall faster, Tai jumped down from the tallest rock face, bringing his weapons down on Sara. Her aura blocked the hit, but fell below the acceptable limit. She had been eliminated. Zeke swung his battleaxe at Tai in frustration, but hit the invisible Qrow instead, sending him tumbling and breaking Summer's disguise on him.

"Summer, run!" said Raven, and Summer did as she was told. A moment later, an enormous boulder exploded, sending deadly gravel and blinding dust everywhere. Raven continued her fight with her one-time date.

"Let's get that bitch," said Qrow, pulling Summer along towards the forest. "Tai, watch Raven's back!"

As they ran, Summer checked the aura-meter. She was at 80%, Tai at 58%, Raven was at 60%, and Qrow was at 40%. "Don't take another hit like that," she warned him. Zeke's aura was at 68%, Yaya's at 100%, and Teak's was at 90%. The elimination cut-off for this match was 15%.

"We have to work on Teak and Yaya's auras…" Qrow said. Although the trees were dense, they spotted Teak fairly quickly. Perhaps it was because of her semblance, but Summer could tell this was the real Teak. She fired three arrows in rapid succession. Only the first managed to surprise him, and maybe took a point or two off of his aura. He had been glancing at… And then Summer realized.

Qrow seemed to have the same idea, and used his scythe to swing up into the treetops. Teak reached into his hat and pulled out a broadsword. "Hmm," said Summer. "I'd like to fight you, but I've got places to be." She grabbed onto the extended scythe and Qrow hoisted her up into the canopy.

"I'll be your opponent," said Raven, tapping Teak on the shoulder. Summer looked just in time to see him jump in surprise.

"She's over here," Qrow said. Sure enough, Yaya was darting around, busy as a squirrel, setting up charges and linking them to detonators.

"Hey, quit hiding in the shadows!" Qrow called. They climbed through the treetops towards her.

The pink-haired girl looked up, as if noticing them for the first time. "You better not eliminate anyone else," she said.

"What does that mean?" asked Qrow.

"It means she's got kill switches," said Summer. "If any of them are eliminated, something blows up."

"Almost," laughed Yaya. "More like _everything_ blows up." She finished with what she was working on and stood up, pulling out a revolver. "Now, stay back," she said. She jumped through the canopy deftly, and Qrow and Summer raced to keep up. Summer was faster, and leaping, managed to grab onto the cuff of Yaya's pants. Yaya tripped, falling through the branches. She backed up so that she was fighting beside Teak, who looked worse for wear.

"Summer, help me with this," said Raven. "Qrow, help Tai finish Zeke."

"Do I finish him, Summer?" asked Qrow.

"Obviously, dummy, walking away from explosions would make us even cooler!"

Before Qrow could even move away, the ground shook and the trees erupted in flame. An enormous shockwave flew through Summer's body, seeming to clamp down on her lungs and rattle her brain. The thrum of the explosions was deafening. Zeke had been eliminated.

Without their team leader, the final two members of team ZSTY began looking more desperate. Even Summer had to admit that it was intimidating to fight against Raven, who never appeared to get tired or lose aura no matter how long she fought. Even with the massive explosion, she continued on, berating Yaya and Teak with swordplay while Summer launched dust-tipped arrows. Ice and fire flew at them, clinking off of their armor and slowly wearing them down. Once Qrow moved in with the scythe, it was over.

Amazed, Summer, Raven and Qrow acknowledged their victory. Raven raced out of the forest back towards Tai. It seemed that he had been hit with the brunt of the explosion, his aura hovering around 17%. She helped him up and he kissed her, while Qrow averted his eyes and the crowd cheered. Raven pulled away, blushing, and glaring at him for the extremely public display of affection. He tousled her hair. The students in the crowd, especially the younger ones, were thrilled with STRQ's win. Summer noticed a couple girls wearing hoods like hers, and there was an entire Qrow fanclub section.

Summer looked at the crowd to avoid looking at Raven and Taiyang. It bothered her that Raven wouldn't talk to her about whatever was bothering her. It bothered her that Raven obviously felt much more comfortable around Tai and Qrow than she did around Summer. It bothered her that her time with her partner was limited by the time he spent chasing after Raven. It bothered her that she felt lonely and jealous by the whole thing. What kind of team leader was she?

* * *

The next days passed in a blur and Team STRQ prepared to leave for the Vytal Festival. Three other teams from Beacon were selected. Team MINT and Team NAVY were the two fourth year teams selected, and Team BRGT upset another team of fourth years to be the second team of third years going. The sixteen of them loaded their luggage onto an airship one foggy and chilly Saturday morning in November, preparing for a several months abroad at Atlas Academy.

A few hours later, Summer sat in her seat on the airship, Tai's head resting on her shoulder. She looked out the window at the vast expanse of nothingness below. She looked around for the twins, who had gone to "find some snacks", but they were nowhere to be seen.

"Where's the grumpy birds?" asked Glynda, turning around in her seat to face Summer. Taiyang snored on.

"I'm not sure."

"Raul and Talia are missing, and so are Morgana and Tricia from MINT, so maybe it's an afternoon drinking party?" Glynda rolled her eyes.

Summer laughed. "Perhaps."

"You know, you're less of the leader and more of the mom of the group," Glynda chided. "Look at how you're letting Xiao Long relax like that. I wouldn't let any guy who wasn't my boyfriend that close."

"That is because you're a prude, Glynda," said Qrow, sauntering back into their area.

Glynda blushed, and Summer had a feeling that despite herself, Glynda might have had a crush on Qrow.

It was true, though. Summer's relationship with Taiyang was strange, and she wasn't sure how to handle it right now. She shrugged her shoulder until he awoke.

"Wha- are we there yet?" he asked.

"We are not," said Barty, turning around in his seat beside Glynda. "By my calculations, we have approximately 35 minutes before landing, though some of that depends on the clouds and wind gusts."

"He's handy," said Qrow, gesturing to Barty. "What are my chances of scoring with Goodwitch?" he asked Barty.

"Approximately 40%, I'd say."

Glynda turned a deep shade of red and turned back around. Summer and Tai both laughed.

"Honestly that was better than I was expecting," quipped Qrow.

"You're insufferable, honestly," said Talia, pulling on Barty's earlobe. "I leave you alone for three minutes and I come back to you embarassing my partner."

"Can I have everyone's attention?" A hologram of a man appeared before the students. Handsome and proper, he looked far too stately to be a Huntsman. "My name is John Ironwood. I am the Headmaster at Atlas Academy. I would like to congratulate you all on your acceptance to the Vytal Festival Tournament. We are looking forward to hosting you at our academy over the coming months. Please, remember to dress warmly, and take in all the culture and excitement that Atlas has to offer. You'll be arriving shortly. Please prepare for a casual but delicious dinner prepared by our staff. I am looking forward to meeting you all in person."


	18. Chapter 18

On this home by Horror haunted—tell me truly, I implore—  
Is there—is there balm in Gilead?—tell me—tell me, I implore!"  
Quoth the Raven "Nevermore."  
- _The Raven_ , Edgar Allan Poe

Chapter 18: An Introduction

Raven watched Taiyang eat an incredible amount of food at the Atlas Academy welcome banquet. Even Summer ate more than usual, claiming the cookies were 'to die for'. Somehow, Raven found herself without an appetite.

It was true, they had been traveling all day, so she hadn't done much to use up energy. In fact, leaving this dinner to have a workout or to spar sounded excellent. Usually, Qrow would oblige her, but tonight he was sipping some illicit Atlesian liquor.

Raven sat back in her chair, resting her hand over the scar on her chest, an unsolicited memory of a fang completely impaling her, of unimaginable pain, came to mind. A second unwanted memory - this one of her and Qrow shackled to a large heavy chain, followed the first. It was always like this. She felt upset, and then the memories came flooding in. A greasy slaver's face… stabbing the man in blue pajamas… mercy killing Qrow's friend from the tribe… barely conscious, being carried by Ulger… the feeling of turning into a fucking bird….

"Hey, earth to Rae, you ok?" Talia cocked her head gauging Raven's response, and reached out to feel for a fever. "You're not warm…"

"I feel alright, I'm just tired."

"I'll grab you a coffee!" Raven smiled at Talia's retreating form. The girl was endlessly helpful and optimistic, despite her insane team of Glynda, Barty and Raul.

Summer was chatting with Morgana about tactical advantages Team MINT was prone to now, but Raven knew she'd want to have a chat later. _Better escape now,_ she thought. The official speakers were all finished for the evening. She could just go back to the room and sleep, or visit the training room and get a workout in….

Raven slipped out of the dining hall, breathing deeply in the dark night air. Atlas was chilly, and she shivered without the sun to provide some heat, but she enjoyed the feeling much more than that of the stuffy banquet hall.

Someone grabbed her hand. Raven immediately reached for her sword before remembering it was back in the room. She turned around. It was Tai.

"Don't sneak up like that!" she berated him.

"I… I didn't, you were just distracted. What's up?"

She could feel her hand trembling in his and willed it to stop. "Noth-" She stopped mid-word and she saw the hurt on his face. They both knew she was lying. "I just feel uneasy. I mean, I always feel uneasy, but I feel restless too."

"Want to spar?"

Raven turned fully around to face Taiyang. She looked into his eager-to-please face, and saw behind that facade to notice that he was truly concerned and cared about her. She couldn't believe he knew her well enough to know she was itching for a fight. It bothered her more than a little that she'd let herself get this close with anyone. An unsolicited image of their kiss at the qualifying tournament (which had been captured on camera and distributed in the student newspaper, no less), flashed through her mind.

"Yes, I would like that quite a bit."

Having only been at Atlas Academy for a few hours, neither of them were sure where the training pitches were. And for Raven's part at least, she didn't much care. She stopped on one of the lush lawns of the campus quadrangles, just out of earshot of the noisy banquet hall. "Ready to go down, Xiao Long?"

"You might be handy with that sword, but I still dominate at hand-to-hand combat."

"We'll see about that."

They began. The effort needed- the strength, stamina, focus- was like therapy to Raven. Her mind cleared, her trembling hands steadied, sweat beaded on her forehead. Taiyang was talented, and strong, that was certain. Raven was forced to take a defensive stance almost immediately as his hits came swift and unending. She managed to get a knee up into his chest, but he caught her ankle as she brought her leg down, twisting her and making her fall to avoid an injury. She swung her other leg at him to trip him up, but he fell on top of her.

Laying his forearm against her throat, his elbows pinning her arms, he grinned. "Submit, Branwen."

Raven's first instinct to spit on him was overwhelmed by a strange, inexplicable attraction to the man holding her down. She blushed as she became aware of their closeness. Then it was Taiyang's turn to become flustered as he realized their position. But despite her prediction that he would move away to alleviate the intimacy, he moved closer, until she could feel his hip on her thigh and his breath on her cheek.

Conscious of their very public position, Raven headbutted Taiyang, slipped out from under him, and got back into a ready stance. Following her cue, Tai did the same, his face now comfortably pink. They continued for some time, Raven occasionally besting Tai but mostly losing, enjoying the feeling of her muscles contracting and expanding, of her breathing becoming more labored, and he sweat accumulating below her hairline. She was going to have a nice relaxing shower after this.

"Heyy! Tai and Raven! Give me a hand!" Summer was moving towards them slowly, her form weighed down by Qrow, who was leaning heavily on her for support. "Someone had a little too much to drink…" she giggled.

"Honestly, so unreliable," muttered Taiyang, but nonetheless helped Summer with Qrow.

"What is going on here?" asked a stranger, who also seemed to have come from the banquet. She looked to be a teacher. "What is this? The lawn is all torn up, and one of you is falling over drunk. Do you think that just because you were selected for the Vytal Festival you're exempt from civil behavior?" She pursed her lips.

"No, no, no," said Qrow. "It's nothing to do with the festival. We're always uncivil, ma'am."

Raven sighed, Qrow was only digging their hole deeper.

"As a professor of this Academy, I cannot tolerate your behavior. Detention, all of you, this Monday evening. What is your team name?"

"We're Team BRGT from Vale, ma'am," said Qrow.

"Well I am Professor Cutter. I hope we will meet on better terms next time." She scribbled the team information down, and walked off to police another area, muttering something about "damn southerners".

"You all just got us detention on our first night in Atlas!" Summer stomped her foot, which to Raven made her look even less intimidating. "As Team Leader, I am completely disappointed. Asa member of the Coolest Team in Beacon, I am completely unsurprised. Why break the streak now?"

They all laughed. Raven was relieved that everyone was still in a good mood. Even she was in a rather good mood. They returned to their new room in high spirits. It was on the top floor of a small dormitory on the west edge of the campus. The other students from Vale shared the corridor, and the floors below them were divided among the other visiting Academies.

Raven snuck into the shower quickly, then got into bed. It was nice to have a comfortable bed to lay down in after all the traveling, banqueting, and sparring she'd been up to all day. As Qrow took his shower and Summer completed some team check-in paperwork with the other Team Leaders in the library, Taiyang came over to sit on Raven's bed. Once again, she was extremely conscious of his closeness.

She leaned back as he leaned towards her, until she was laying back on the bed with him over her, an unsubtle reference to their earlier predicament. This time, he leaned down and kissed her. It was soft and gentle, and full of the warm passion that Taiyang had trademarked. She reached up and combed her fingers through his hair. She thought of that night that seemed ages ago, when she and Qrow had seen Taiyang and Summer kissing. She faltered, pulling away. He moved closer again, biting gently on her lower lip. She thought of becoming a raven, beak and feathers and dark, beady eyes. "No!" she said, sitting up and backing away from him. _You had a thing with Summer. Why did you screw that up to pursue me?_

"I- I'm sorry." For once, he didn't meet her eyes, preferring to look at the patterns on the Atlesian carpet. "I… got carried away. I really like you." Now he did look at her, his emotions so pure she felt that she should turn away. She willed her hands not to shake.

"I'm sorry too," she said. "I'm going to bed now, goodnight."

* * *

After the first few days at Atlas, Raven began to feel more settled in. She'd found the training rooms, the library, all of her classes, and the sparring pitches. The team took all of their classes together, something that hadn't happened since their first semester, due to Beacon's wide variety of electives. They also took their meals together, so there was plenty of team bonding time to be had. Their detention scheme had been found out, and they had been forced to serve two detentions, once again, in each other's company. Luckily, Summer seemed to have decided not to pursue her heart-to-heart with Raven, and Taiyang hadn't initiated any more intimate moments between Raven and himself.

Qrow, her oldest and most trustworthy partner, seemed to be settling in to life at Atlas unexpectedly well. Atlas seemed to have less stringent laws regarding smoking and drinking, and time abroad meant more women to spread his charm among. But none of this was concerning to Raven, since this was all normal Qrow behavior. What did concern her about her little brother was that his old tendency to sneak out to drink or see girls had been replaced with a tendency to sneak out and transform into a crow.

The first Friday of their time in Atlas, coincidentally the first day of December and the first snow of the year, Raven followed he brother as he got out of bed and left the room around midnight. She crept down the stairs behind him, and when he transformed and flew off, she swallowed her displeasure and did the same.

The night was crisp and cool, and large snowflakes drifted lazily by. The moon was covered by clouds, making the forest Qrow was flying over close to black. Raven could not rid herself of the discomfort of turning into a bird, but she focused on following close behind her brother. Qrow had never been much of a go-getter, which means that this midnight objective was almost definitely not of his own initiative. There was only one person that Raven could imagine was behind this. Someone who sat in a clock tower, adjusting the cogs of fate, arrogantly performing alchemy and speaking in riddles.

Qrow touched down on a tall tree branch, and Raven landed beside him. He acknowledged her presence, but obviously could not speak to her. Instead he poked at her with his beak, and she flapped her wings at him in annoyance. Qrow took off in a dive, and just as Raven thought he'd crash into the ground, he transformed, rolled, and stood up in human form. Raven landed on the ground then transformed back. "Lame," chided Qrow.

"At least I'm not coated in snow, now," she quipped.

"At least I have real clothes and not a fucking nightgown."

"I wasn't planning on flying to this godforsaken place this evening!"

"Hmm? Interesting. Ozpin thought you'd come."

It incensed her to hear that Qrow had been communicating with the headmaster. Not only that, but they had been discussing _her_.

"He's on a power trip. Why are we here?"

"I guess the Huntsmen around here have been seeing more Grimm activity than usual. Ozpin asked me to look into why."

"And why, praytell, can't the actual Huntsmen do their job and investigate this?" she asked.

"Because, dear sister, this valley is pretty inaccessible unless you're a bird."

Raven looked up. Indeed, the valley was surrounded by intimidating rockfaces, and there was no room to land an aircraft. Jagged rocks lined much of the ground, so it would be risky to jump as well. "How convenient," she muttered.

"I think our best bet is there," Qrow said, pointing to some sort of cavern.

"Yeah, let's go investigate the dark, scary, potentially deadly place we have no reason to even be visiting in the first place!" Raven whispered, to avoid disturbing anything that called this place home, but her frustration was translated.

"You don't have to come." Qrow walked off towards the black hole.

"Wait. Tell me why you're doing this. You don't just do extra work for people for no good reason."

"Ozpin gave me powers, I'm holding up my end of the deal. Besides, someone has to figure out more about Salem. And, well, he's willing to overlook some of my unstudious lifestyle choices."

"Qrow, this isn't a power!" They walked into the cave and she dropped her voice lower. "This… _bird thing_ is just some curse. You don't _owe-_ "

Qrow cut her off by abruptly turning around and putting his hands on her shoulders. "You wouldn't understand," he said quietly. "Your semblance isn't bad luck. You're always top of the class."

Raven looked up at her brother, trying to make out his face in the inky blackness. There was a shifting in the dark, somewhere to their left and Raven instinctively moved closer to him. He laughed a little and patted her head. "Still freaked out by sounds in the dark?" he asked. He turned around and began moving forward again.

Raven didn't feel the need to explain herself to him. She knew he was faking bravery for her sake, anyways. He was been quivering right alongside her those long weeks when they lived like animals in the slavers camps as children.

After what seemed like ages, the cavern opened up and revealed a wide, circular area, in which a large amount of black sludge was deposited. Raven felt certain that this mud extended down deep, though why she felt this way she couldn't be sure. "What the hell is this?" Qrow muttered.

He stepped back as the pit began to bubble and shift. A bulge appeared in the center, and then the surface tension broke to reveal a Grimm, a rather foul-looking Ursa. "Did… we just watch a Grimm birth?" asked Qrow. Raven knew her face mirrored her brothers, twin faces of shock and disbelief.

"What… do we do?" she asked him, slowly backing up towards where they had come from.

"I think we'd better kill it."

"How would you like to die, Ursa? By ice or fire?" She spun the cartridges of her sword like a roulette wheel, and the colors stopped on blue. "Ice it is."


	19. Chapter 19

Gather round with glasses raised

Merry close, come one and all

Those below say the land's too numb

But North'ners know we've won the draw

-Unknown, _Atlas Folk Song_

Chapter 19: A Dance

Taiyang poured eight shots of Atlesian maple whiskey into shot glasses. Team STRQ and Team MINT gathered around the counter in the kitchenette that was in the corner of the common lounge for the 'Vale' floor of an Atlas Academy dormitory. Team BRGT was also there, but declined to participate in the drinking festivities. Instead, they were working on some dance moves. It was just after Christmas break now, and an hour before the Welcome Back Dance.

"To an awesome semester!" said Summer, raising her glass.

"To getting hammered and having a great time at the dance," proposed Morgana, and her team cheered.

They all tipped back their shots, the third round of the evening. Although Taiyang didn't feel anything yet, he knew he had the worst alcohol tolerance on the team, so he'd better slow down. Raven and Summer excused themselves to get changed, and Taiyang plopped down on the couch. Qrow grabbed the bottle of whiskey and took a swig.

"It's rude to take things that aren't yours," said Tricia.

"Bite me," said Qrow, tipping the bottle back. "I've shared more than enough liquor with you."

"It's not mine, it's Niki's," said Tricia. Niki reached somewhere into the tulle skirt of her ball gown and emerged with sharp, metal claws which extended from her hands. In an impossible amount of time, she crossed the room and retrieved the liquor from Qrow.

"Sweet!" said Taiyang. I didn't know your semblance was speed!"

"It's not," said Niki, drinking the liquor. "I can slow down time for everyone but myself."

"That is even cooler!"

"I gotta admit, that's pretty neat," said Qrow, reaching into the pocket of his dress pants for a flask.

Before he could uncap it, however, it flew across the room to Tricia. "Way cooler than Tricia's semblance," he said, annoyed.

"Summoning is hella useful for the lazy lady," the blonde quipped. Her hair was tied back in a tight braided bun, and she wore a sleek black dress. She had a black boa around her neck and altogether looked quite fancy. Taiyang, bored from waiting for the girls, eyed the girls of MINT. Morgana's silver dress twinkled as she moved, and it definitely flattered her figure. Inez, who looked rather naked without her broadsword, wore an emerald gown and looked more sophisticated than the rest. Niki wore a sky blue dress, the same color as her eyes. "Hey, Xiao Long, you got a thing for the older ladies?" teased Nirav, the leader of Team Navy, as they walked past the lounge. Taiyang blushed.

"It's not his fault," said Alistair, one of his teammates. "One girl on his team is a dork in a hood, and the other is a savage. Oh wait, that's your girlfriend isn't it?" The boys laughed. Qrow put the lid on his flask and began to walk towards them, and Taiyang also felt his rage moving him towards Team Navy. Surprisingly, though, it was Team MINT who got to them first.

"Just because you can't get a date to save your life doesn't mean you have to bring everyone else down," said Inez.

"I'm ashamed that people like you are allowed to represent Vale," added Morgana.

Tricia slapped Alistair across the face. "Tell me you didn't deserve that," she threatened. Despite being six inches shorter than him, she met his gaze intensely.

Qrow stood behind Tricia, as if warning Alistair not to retaliate. Eventually, he muttered "come on" and led his team away. Niki passed the whiskey to Tricia and Morgana. "Honestly, what assholes."

Summer and Raven returned shortly after. Summer was wearing a cocktail dress make of red and black brocade, with gold embroidery throughout. She'd even applied makeup. Raven was wearing a violet gown, and had tied back her hair into a loose bun. They both looked stunning.

"Give me another round, a double," said Raven.

"Ah, I knew my sister was still in there somewhere," teased Qrow.

Soon it was time to depart, and the three Vale teams walked quickly as a group across the snowy grounds to the banquet hall. All of the tables had been moved to the edges of the room, leaving space for a large dance floor in the middle. A DJ was playing music, and there were snacks and drinks at tables in the back. Taiyang felt Qrow slip the flask into his hand, an unsubtle suggestion to get drunker.

At first, Taiyang watched Team BRGT on the dancefloor. Of all of them, Raul was most naturally talented at dancing, but Barty won the award for effort. There was more illicit alcohol passed around, some conversation here and there with teams from other schools, and Tai even danced to a few songs. After an hour or so, the he felt perfectly drunk, the sweet spot between tipsy and clumsy. Even Professor Cutter, who was somehow more uptight than Grey, was swaying along to the music as she supervised the festivities.

"No way, y'all _might_ have an edge sober, but drunk, I don't think so, _juniors._ " Morgana slurred her words as she argued with Summer.

"That is false!" Summer replied, pointing a clumsy finger in Morgana's face. "Sober or wasted, Team STRQ dominates!"

"I mean, Qrow fights drunk half the time, anyways," added Tricia.

"So do you," he replied.

Barty and Talia, who had apparently also been listening in, joined their table. "Why don't you put your money where your mouth is?" he asked.

Everyone turned to face Barty, who didn't normally say such bold things. "Sorry," added Talia, "he gets all hyped up dancing and it's like a whole new person."

Barty reached into his vest pocket and pulled out a vial of light blue dust. "This is extremely rare steam/wind combination dust. Basically it harnesses the heat of steam and the momentum of wind and allows you to slice through things using intense heat. Or just blow clouds of scalding steam at them, your preference. This vial goes to the winning team."

Raven, who didn't look too interested until now, perked up. "Let's go." She stood and her chair fell backwards.

"Oh everyone better watch out, Raven's properly wasted," Qrow said.

Attempting to be subtle, but most likely failing, Teams STRQ, MINT, and BRGT eloped from the dance and stumbled to the training pitches. They passed the training room and retrieved their weapons on the way. "Oh, I love fighting and looking cute!" said Summer. The girls shivered in the cold winter night, but chatted excitedly about the upcoming fight.

"Alright, alright, participants, listen closely!" Raul stood on the bleachers, acting the part of referee. "I want a clean fight! Y'all can use weapons and semblance, but no leaving the pitch, and you need to come out once you can tell your aura is low. Glynda will forcibly remove you from the pitch if she has to."

"Aw yeah," teased Qrow, pretending to faint. "Glynda, help me!"

"Winner will be the team who sucks less, by Talia's and my determination. The consolation prize for the losing team is one lady's lucky chance to have a romantic evening with Barty… on your tab. Ready… go!"

Before Taiyang could process what was happening, there was chaos everywhere. Sand was flying up from the training pitch, there was snow falling on them, there were girls in pretty dresses with scary weapons everywhere. Taiyang pulled out his kama, but dropped one and found himself on his knees crawling around in the sand for it.

Somewhere, Inez and Raven were clashing swords. Then suddenly, Inez was in the sand beside him, trying and failing to right herself. Finally equipped, Taiyang was ready to join the melee. Qrow and Tricia were locked in serious combat, the only two used to fighting in this state. Summer was fighting with Morgana in hand-to-hand combat, since both usually fought with bows. Raven had moved on to clashing with Niki, who fought with claws at what appeared to be super speed.

"I'm still in!" called Inez, running at Tai with her sword. Knowing his weapon was no match for the sword's heavy swing, Tai held the blades out to stop the blow, then kicked his leg out and tripped Inez. Once again, she was slow to get up. Tricia managed to get Qrow out, and though Tai didn't see the finishing move, the way Qrow was rubbing his head gave Tai an idea oh what had happened.

Tai moved in to the fight with Niki, who seemed to be tiring herself out using her semblance the whole time.

"Where are you damn it!?" called Morgana, chasing after an invisible Summer with Tricia in hot pursuit. An arrow flew out of nothingness, followed by a second and a third. Unprepared, Tricia's aura blocked them, but she too had to leave the contest. Summer also shot an arrow at Niki, but it missed the speedy girl and caught Raven in the shoulder. "Fuck," she cursed softly, continuing her rapid swordplay.

"Sorry!" called Summer, but the voice gave her location away, and Morgana hit her with a crossbow arrow. "Oh, crud! Sorry TRQ, that's all for your team leader, Dust-infused arrows _bite_!"

Niki took an interest in Tai as Raven tried to take down Morgana. Since Niki also had an extremely close range weapon, she made a good match for Tai. Unfortunately, both of them were way off balance from the alcohol, and their swings more often missed than rang true. Tai could feel his aura depleting just from the effort he was expending. But that likely meant Niki was almost out as well. He attacked with some fierce combos, concentrating all of his effort into his hand-eye coordination, and eventually she stumbled, raising a hand in surrender.

Just as Tai went to celebrate, his aura stopped a Dust-arrow from piercing his back. "I'm out!" he called. "Shit, Summer, you weren't lying!"

Morgana and Raven danced around the field. While neither was as precise or dangerous as usual, they both managed to outstand everyone else. The crossbow and sword was a difficult matchup, and at first it seemed that Morgana had the advantage since she managed to maintain a distance from Raven, and even managed to fire an arrow that struck true. Unfortunately, she backed up to the edge of the field, where Tai was sitting, and that was her downfall.

Raven created a portal to Tai, ran into it, leaped out so that she landed back inside the boundaries of the pitch, and got enough slashes in to deplete Morgana's aura. "Alright, alright, I'm gonna puke in a minute!" Morgana conceded.

"Team STRQ wins!" Raul called. "Now which of you fourth-year ladies would like a date with Barty here?"

Raven collected her Dust, the two teams shook hands, and all staggered back towards the dorms, tipsy and exhausted.

There were two aspects of the dorms that Taiyang hated. The first was that Team STRQ and Team BRGT shared a common bathroom, which was always crowded before bed. After waiting for everyone else to use the bathroom, Tai took a two-minute shower, brushed his teeth, and put on pajama pants. He decided to go without a shirt for tonight, perhaps an homage to his Vacuo upbringing.

The second thing Tai hated was that the beds here were bunked. Normally he wouldn't care much about climbing into the top bunk, but tonight it seemed like an insurmountable task. Also, he didn't completely trust himself not to puke on Qrow below him in the middle of the night. Confidence boosted by liquor and fear of reprimand weakened by exhaustion, Tai crawled onto Raven's bed.

"What are you doing?" she mumbled, sitting up slightly.

"Shhh…" he whispered, kissing her. "Just go to sleep."

Either she enjoyed his company or was too tired to care, because she allowed Tai to lay beside her and quickly fell asleep. As he waited for sleep to come, he watched her chest slowly rise and fall. By the glow of moonlight, he examined the large, purple scar on her chest, and other, white scars on her arms. He suddenly wished he wasn't in a shared dormitory room so that he could kiss her, touch her, maybe even go further. Now he was more awake than ever. He turned away and willed himself to think about classes until sleep took him.

The next day there was a strange buzzing in the cafeteria. It was Sunday, so there were no classes, but there were droves of students, hungover or just tired from a late night out, chowing down on breakfast and discussing the coming term. Taiyang scouted the teams from Vacuo and from Mistral, and tried to figure out who among the Atlas students was selected for the tournament.

"Oh my goodness! Taiyang, look at this!" Summer called, her hand holding a blueberry muffin frozen halfway to her mouth. Tai walked around the table to see what she was looking at, and even the twins joined in. On a portable viewing screen, Summer was streaming video of the previous night's drunk team combat adventure. "Barty must have had a camera," she said.

Raven giggled, and it was an unfamiliar, but not unpleasant sound. "Oh, look at Tai!" Tai reconsidered and decided it was unpleasant. He watched himself crawling around in the sand, looking for the weapon that was already in his hand. He watched himself attempt to stand two, three times before finally succeeding. He watched himself swing aimlessly, "helping" Raven fight.

"Summer… where did you find this video?" Tai asked nervously.

"Oh, it's on the school blog, everyone's seen it by now, probably."

Sure enough, Tai began to notice the stares everyone was casting their team. Team MINT, unfortunately, was not present to share the spotlight. "Hey, I don't look half bad," said Qrow.

It was true. Aside from Tai and Inez, pretty much everyone else looked capable, despite their impediments. In fact, Raven and Morgana looked downright impressive fighting in their gowns. "Ugh this is the worst," Tai moaned.

"Why? Because you'll be unpopular with the ladies?" asked Qrow. "One: you already were, and two: I seem to recall you in my sister's bed this morning."

Tai blushed. He thought he had awoke before anyone else.

"And without a shirt, no less!" Summer added. "Taiyang, preying on drunk girls is not good conduct." She chided him in a teasing manner, which made him entirely grateful for not keeping with the Vacuo tradition of sleeping naked.

Raven was surprisingly silent throughout this conversation, which made Tai wonder if she had actually enjoyed his company. However, before he could talk to her about it, an orange-haired girl and her teammates approached him.

"Hey! You're the guy from the video! Sabrina and I could not stop laughing!"

Tai gave them a shy smile. They wore Atlas Academy uniforms, and were admittedly very pretty.

"I think you cured my hangover!" the one called Sabrina said.

"Oh, I'm so glad we have visiting teams here, it makes everything so much more fun," said the first girl. "It's Sunday, you don't have plans, do you?"

"Uhh... no. No plans."


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20: The Breach

Qrow landed on the windowsill of the dormitory and pecked on the glass. After a moment, Summer unlatched the window and opened it, and he flew back inside, transforming back to his human form. Grateful for the heat, he laid back on the rug, catching his breath.

"Oz is gonna flip when I tell him about what I saw tonight," he said. He could practically feel his sister roll her eyes from where she lay under the covers, doing homework. " _Let Ozpin do his own dirty work,"_ he said, in a bad impression of her voice.

"She won't lecture you tonight, she already spent an hour on me," said Summer, looking up from behind a pile of books at her desk.

"What are you getting lectured for, chief?"

"Ozpin wants me to do some research for him, and come up with some tactical plans… probably related to what you've been scouting, but I don't know all the details. And I'm trying to figure out what was up with those tarry pools you and Raven encountered."

"Oh, yeah, that sounds interesting… and like something Raven would disapprove of."

Raven sat up. "I'm just saying, we have responsibilities to school, and to the tournament, and I don't see why we owe Ozpin anything."

"It's not about owing," said Summer. "It's about saving the world! That's what Huntsmen do."

"So idealistic…" the twins muttered together.

Summer hmphed and returned to her books.

"Where's Tai?" asked Qrow.

"Where do you think?" Raven said, turning back to her homework.

"Team JSMN?"

The girls nodded. JSMN was an Atlesian team in their year, consisting of James Ironwood, Sabrina Ducass, Mina Kura, and Norbert Swai. Tai had taken a liking to the Atlas team, and often spent his evenings with them. He invited the others, but they rarely obliged. The twins hated Ironwood, and Summer was often too busy with homework, preparing for the tournament, or her research for Ozpin.

"He just likes them because those girls saved him from a life of embarrassment after that video…" Qrow muttered.

"Oh, as long as he's on Team STRQ, he has a life of embarrassment ahead," said Summer. "Raven and I won't let him forget that video ever."

"He couldn't even stand," said Raven, the blankets shaking as she laughed. "So… what did you see that you were so excited about?" She sat up, legs dangling off the edge of the bed. They both looked out the window into the dark sky, snow eternally swirling.

"Um… well, remember how the other day I saw that guy loitering around those caverns?"

The girls nodded.

"Well tonight I followed him to a pub, and I overheard him speaking to some confidant…. They were discussing 'Maidens' and 'Relics'."

"Maidens?" repeated Summer. "Like… girls?"

"Well, yeah, but they were talking about them as if they were really special. Like there's only a few of these 'Maidens' and they're trying to round them up."

"And the relics?" asked Raven.

"It was kind of vague. I think the relics are something associated with the maidens, but I can't be sure. Either way, I think they're trying to collect those as well."

"This sounds like a video game quest," said Summer. "But it does seem really interesting. You're right, I think Ozpin will be very eager to hear about this, and to be honest, I feel like I've come across the 'Maidens' somewhere in my reading… I'll have to do some digging."

"Can we talk about something else?" asked Raven, sighing.

"Are you upset your boyfriend has found new girls to chase?" teased Qrow.

"I could care less. I would like to talk about our plan for the first round of the tournament… which in case you have forgotten, is in two weeks."

"I haven't forgotten. I just agree with Summer, that maybe saving the world takes priority here."

Summer moved from the desk to sit on the foot of Raven's bed. "I don't necessarily think that this work is more important than the Festival. In fact, I've been spending quite a bit of time gathering intel on the opponents - with Barty's help, of course. I do think that we have an obligation to help with this saving the world business, but there's a lot of others helping as well. We do what we can, and we also win the tournament!"

Qrow laughed. "It sounds so easy when you say it like that."

The door opened then, and Tai and Team JSMN stumbled in. Taiyang was laughing about something Sabrina was saying, which Qrow noticed made Raven's default foul look turn even fouler. Qrow had been suspicious for some time that perhaps Tai was back to his old act - flirt with many, commit to none, hurt a few feelings along the way.

"Oh, you stink!" complained Summer, wafting the air and shifting back to sit beside Raven. The two girls were in their pajamas and looked annoyed at the late-night visitors.

"It's a Saturday night, why are you all ready for bed already?" asked Norbert. It was well-known that he had a crush on Summer, which was definitely unrequited.

"We _were_ working, until we were interrupted," said Raven pointedly. "Tai, are you high?"

Qrow was about to ask the same thing. The distinctive smell of the psychoactive plant Umpqua settled about the room. While it was definitely illegal to obtain within the kingdoms, it was a popular pastime for Atlesian students.

"It's not a big deal," Tai smiled. "We just came by to see if you wanted to come with us down to Svalren, they're having a rave."

"And walk a mile in the snow to get there? Hard no from me," said Qrow. He pulled out a hip flask. "I've got all I need here."

"Yes, delightful company and nutritious beverages," said Ironwood sarcastically. "Well, we expected that to be your answer. Later."

Chatting excitedly, they left, and Qrow could hear them stop at Team BRGT's room, extending the same invitation.

"Listen," said Summer, "We've been working hard every evening for the past few weeks. I don't really want to go to the rave, but let's have a fun night here for once."

"Do we have to?" moaned Raven, flopping back onto the pillows.

"Yeah, didn't you figure it out by now, Summer? Raven is allergic to fun."

"No one is allergic to the powers of cookies and whiskey!"

Raven gathered Cinna up in her arms, the rabbit nuzzling comfortably into her blouse, and they all walked down the hall to the common room. It seemed that all of the other Vale teams were out that night, so while Summer got the cookie dough ready, Qrow lit a fire and poured the whiskey, and Raven "borrowed" some herbs from the fridge to feed to the rabbit. Summer turned on the radio, and the twins relaxed on the comfortable sofas.

For once, Qrow allowed himself to be relaxed, without worrying about the festival, classes, Ozpin's jobs, Salem, or the tribe. He was worrying a bit about his sister, but with a sister like Raven, there was always something to worry about.

As the alcohol hit his system, he sank back comfortably into the cushions. Summer brought over her tray of freshly-baked cookies, and they all sang along to the radio as _Fierce,_ a popular new single, played. It was one of the best nights Qrow had had in a while, but Taiyang's absence was definitely noticeable. Despite Qrow's earlier frustrations with Tai, he had come to appreciate his teammate's unique perspective, and how he brought their team together. Full of cookies, tipsy from alcohol, and warm from the fire, Summer, Raven and Qrow dozed off on the common room couches.

Qrow awoke to the sounds of girls giggling, which in his experience was never a good sign. He opened his eyes to see Ironwood with a camera pointed at him, with made him downright angry. "Raven, where's my scythe?" he asked.

His sister merely moaned.

"Try the fridge," offered Summer, talking in her sleep. The laughter of team JSMN grew.

Confused as to why this team was on their floor, and as to why Ironwood had a camera, Qrow shook his head and stood. He looked over at the sleeping girls, and realized at once what had happened. Someone had drawn massive angry eyebrows on Summer, and Raven was sporting a lovely mustache. Raven had fallen asleep with her head resting on Summer's shoulder, and combined they were quite a sight. Qrow glanced at his reflection on the oven door, and saw that he was sporting a pair of devil's horns on his forehead, along with a marker goatee.

"Aw, fuck off, all of you. This isn't your dormitory floor." Walking back to the couch, he roused the girls, grabbing each of them by the wrist. "Come on, let's go back to the room." Sleepily, Raven clutching Cinnamon, they obliged.

Once Qrow got the girls up to speed (and they saw themselves in a mirror), they were understandably upset. "I can't believe Taiyang is friends with these assholes!" Summer cursed, her drawn-on angry eyebrows accentuating her emotions. "Revenge! We must have revenge!"

"Yeah, sure, after team combat practice," said Raven, rubbing off the mustache and changing into her combat outfit.

The bright Sunday morning sunlight hurt Qrow's eyes and worsened his hangover as they trekked out to the training pitches to practice for the festival. Tai joined them a few minutes after their scheduled start time, laughing as he brought out a piece of paper.

"Check it out!" he laughed, handing them the paper. Sure enough, it was a printout of them asleep with drawn-on features. "It's definitely going to be in the school paper this week."

"Where were you this morning?" asked Qrow, his voice with a bit of an edge to it. "Team JSMN was in the common room, but you weren't, and you weren't in the dorm room either?"

"Oh, I forgot my card at the bar last night, I had to go back and get it. I heard the craziest thing while I was there, too. The barman was saying that there's G-"

"Tai!" shouted Summer, "Zip it! This is practice time!" Qrow was surprised to see Summer putting her foot down, but he supposed even her patience was not endless.

"Yes ma'am," said Tai, not looking particularly ashamed.

"Alright, we're going to do that "Tunnel" formation where Tai takes point and everyone follows via portal. I've got cover, obviously."

They powered on the Grimm-Simulator, known affectionately as the GrimmSim, and got to work. The point of the formation was for Tai to move in, and then Raven would create a portal to him, allowing the twins to jump through and attack.

Tai moved forward, slashing at the holographic Ursa Major, and Qrow waited for the portal to emerge. Raven slashed at the space before them, and slashed a second time, before putting her hand to her forehead.

Summer quickly paused the simulator. "Are you ok?" she asked, rushing over to Raven.

"I'm fine," Raven assured her, "I just… _can't_ open the portal."

Tai, who had been further away, rejoined them. "You ok, Rae?" he asked her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm _fine,_ " she said, pulling away from his grip. She rubbed both hands along her temples, as if trying to focus. Without drawing her sword, she closed her eyes and opened a portal.

"Oh, there, you've got it!" said Summer, obviously relieved. "Maybe you were hungover or something?"

"No," she said, her voice uneasy. "This portal is to Qrow." Qrow looked behind himself and realized she was correct. She closed the portal, and opened another. "This one is to Summer." She closed it again. "I can't make one to Tai."

"Maybe…" Summer paused. "Maybe you're a little frustrated at Tai about the prank this morning? Has this ever happened with Qrow?"

"No. I am always frustrated with Qrow, and I've always been able to make a portal to him. This is… not frustration." Raven's voice was low. She hated talking about emotions. She hated being weak. Qrow knew she would consider the current situation to include both of those.

"Well, we can figure it out," offered Summer. "Let's try the "Kangaroo" formation instead."

Raven caught Qrow's eye, a flash of guilt and perhaps fear on her face. They had been counting on being able to use the portals to Tai in the tournament.

"Alright, I'm going to turn it on again-" Summer was interrupted as a blaring siren turned on, accompanied by flashing lights.

"Attention, students," came a voice, maybe Cutter's. "There has been a breach on the east border of the city. Dozens of Grimm are currently entering the gates. All capable Huntsmen year two and beyond are mandated to report to the station, where you will be deployed immediately to help manage the situation."

Already dressed and with weapons, Team STRQ took off running. The station was close to the training pitches, so it only took them a few minutes to arrive. They were ushered onto the first bullhead, which took off towards the eastern border. They shared the transport with two Atlesian teams that looked to be fourth years.

"We're Team DARK," said one of the largest in the group. "This is Team NDGO."

"We're Team STRQ," said Summer. Her voice was tense due to the upcoming battle.

"We recognize you," one of the other boys offered. "Between the drunk combat video and that photo this morning," he laughed.

"Of course you do," Raven groaned.

The ride to the border was short, and they were dropped on a tall rooftop near the breach. Snow began to fall. From where they stood, Qrow could see dozens of Grimm streaming in. A special white Atlesian Ursa breed stood out, as well as a unique wolf-like Grimm.

"Lupus," said Summer.

"Bigger problems," said Tai, pointing upward. Two large Nevermore seemed to be drawn to the action and circled overhead.

"Let's get to work," said Raven decisively.

They descended into chaos.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21: A Connection

Raven felt a strange calm envelop her as she stood amongst the cacophony that was the battle between Grimm and Huntsmen at the East Gate. Around her, snow swirled, the breeze making her shiver in her relatively light combat outfit. Beside her was Qrow, her lifetime partner, the one person she could read without even setting eyes on.

Taiyang was on the other side of the battle, working with Summer, and Raven was pleased he wasn't trying to fight alongside her. Deep down, she _knew_ why she couldn't make the portal appear. It was because she didn't trust Tai. It wasn't that she was concerned he was cheating on her - and after all, they weren't even a _real_ couple, she told herself. It was more about the way he had been distant lately, about where his priorities lay. There was a separation between them, and it was an old, bitter feeling of being cast away.

But now, in the midst of battle, none of that mattered. Here, it was kill or be killed, basic survival. It didn't matter what Raven's feelings were, or what else was happening in the world. At this moment, it was slaughter or be slaughtered. There was one of the Polar Ursas squaring up to Qrow, while two Lupus's snarled at her. In the distance, she could see Summer and Tai helping Team MINT take down one of the Nevermore. She watched younger students ushering civilians to transport to take them away from the battle. Was this what it was like in Jade Village? She wondered.

She coated her blade in fire dust, predicting correctly that the arctic animals would shy away from such an element. Raven heard the Ursa groan in pain as Qrow's scythe swung true. The Lupuses bared their teeth, drawing ever nearer. She swung, singing one in the flank, and quickly jabbed forward to catch the other one in the eye. They yelped and snarled, leaping at her. Slicing through the air, she eviscerated the first wolf, and immediately it began melting into black Grimm matter.

The second managed to claw her, it's swipe causing deep lacerations in her thigh. Immediately, she could feel her aura begin healing the damage. The pain only served to focus her further, reminding her that being careless was equivalent to suicide here. With only a nudge of her elbow, she switched positions with Qrow, allowing him to finish off the second wolf. She sheathed her sword, changing the dust coating to electricity. An ominous crackling like lightning filled the air.

Qrow had managed to get some good hits on the Ursa, and it was weaker, but it's massive size allowed it to remain standing. His hits had the added effect of thoroughly pissing the creature off. Raven took two steps forward, launching herself forward at the creature. Mid-leap, she sliced at the Ursa three times, electrocuting it and opening deep gouges. It roared and fell backwards, and Qrow ran past her, finishing it with a sweep of his scythe across its neck.

"Where the hell do you think they came from?" he grunted, turning to take on another Lupus.

"Oh fuck," was Raven's only reply, leaping off of her brother's extended weapon to slice at the Nevermore which had swooped down inches from Qrow. She managed to slice off its right foot, which hit the ground with a heavy thud and steamed black goo, melting the snow beneath. The battlefield was a mosaic of black, red, and white, with green spruces creating a bizarrely serene backdrop.

She re-coated her sword, this time using fire dust once again, and lit some of the debris on fire… a discarded coat, a downed tree branch, an abandoned wooden cart. In the tribe, it was common practice to light fires during a Grimm battle. The creatures disliked the warmth. Qrow was once again beside her, and they moved back to where Summer and Tai were fighting. More students and professors had arrived, and now the biggest threats were the two Nevermore.

Seeing the Grimm up close, Raven was shocked at their resemblance to a raven… and to an extent, a crow. Perhaps that was one reason she instinctively and completely hated the bird form she was capable of. Today, however, it might be necessary. She caught Qrow's eye, and knew he'd had this plan from the beginning.

"Summer," called Raven, surprised at the hoarseness of her own voice.

Summer waved at her teammate, blood running down her arm from a deep gash in her palm.

"Plan Condor!" Raven called.

"Oh shit! Yes!" called back Summer excitedly. "Tai, Plan Condor!"

The twins ducked behind a building, unwilling to reveal their powers to everyone just yet. In seconds, they transformed and flew up to meet the Nevermores. Raven followed Qrow's lead - her twin was much more experienced in this form than she.

Qrow began taunting the closer Nevermore, flying around its had and then diving down towards the Huntsmen. The Nevermore followed, allowing Summer to strike it twice with arrows. Just at the Grimm was refocusing on Summer, Qrow reappeared, flitting in its vision and taking off upwards. The Grimm bit, following the bait back to the skies for another round.

Raven tried the same with the second Nevermore, luring it down to where Niki and Tai were waiting with their collection of short blades. The Grimm flew faster than she expected, and followed close on her tail as she pulled out of the dive and move upwards again. One of the claw-like protrusions from it's wing caught her, and she could feel the pain as it managed to break the skin of her bird body. She realized suddenly that although she had better evasive skills in this form, she had no offensive skills, and she was much easier to kill. A better-placed strike from the Grimm could have been a lethal hit in this delicate bird form. Annoyed, she worked harder to put space between herself and the Grimm bird.

When they swooped down again, Inez and Barty had joined the fray, attacking the bird with broadsword and flamethrower, respectively. After what seemed like hours, the Nevermore finally fell. Exhausted, Raven dove behind a snow drift, transforming back into human form. She laid in the snow, catching her breath, too tired now to even see the extent of her injuries.

She sensed the Lupus before she spotted it, stalking her from over her left shoulder. She rolled onto her front to counter the blow, preparing her aura for the strike as the creature leaped. A second before impact, scythe swung through the creature, tearing it clean in half. "That's four kills today, I'm winning, sis."

"Thank you," Raven said, falling back into the snow. Slowly, she stood, surveying the battlefield. The numbers of Grimm had decreased dramatically, and the snow was soaked black in many areas. Some students were being assisted or fully carried away to tend to injuries. Bleeding and exhausted, the remaining students continued on, fighting against the last Grimm standing. The fires seemed to be working as Raven saw a couple Geists survey the situation and move back into the forest.

She followed Qrow to the top of the boulder Tai and Summer had been fighting from, relieved to see the rest of their team without serious injury. "Raven, that was amazing," said Summer, rushing over to hug her. To her surprise, Raven did not hate Summer's affection.

"You too," said Summer, turning to Qrow. "Team MINT was confused but impressed."

"That's the impression I like to leave," said Qrow suavely.

The battle wound down and the team was dismissed, as professional Huntsmen arrived to take over the watch, and others arrived to repair the gate. The sun was falling already. The days were shorter in this wintery continent, but Raven hadn't thought the battle lasted more than an hour or two. Apparently, it had, which explained why her body was aching and her aura was shot. There were lacerations on her arms and chest which continued to bleed, her aura not activating to heal them. She observed that her blood still had a strange purple gleen to it, a remnant of the King Taijitu attack.

After changing clothes and warming up by the common room fire for a few minutes, Team STRQ decided to get dinner. They were starving after the fight.

"Hey, are you alright?" asked Taiyang, grabbing Raven's hand and pulling it towards him to assess the damage. This time, she didn't pull away, annoyed at the thrill of passion his touch stirred in her. They trailed behind Qrow and Summer.

"I'm alright," she replied, settling her hand into his. She was annoyed at herself: at first she dismissed his affections, but now that he seemed to be interested in others, she wanted him back, focusing on her.

"I'm relieved. That transformation is cool… but you're kind of vulnerable like that."

She nodded. "I feel the same."

Pulling her along into the dining room, he made a beeline for the food. "Come on, we deserve to indulge tonight!" Raven noticed the stares of Team JSMN as Taiyang held her hand. She paid them no mind. Loading her plate with more food than usual, she rejoined Qrow and Summer at their favorite table, in the corner of the dining room.

"No way," Qrow was arguing with Summer, "It can't be!"

"It is, no one else's head looks like that from the back!" Summer argued.

"What are you guys talking about?" asked Taiyang.

Just then, the head they were referring to turned around, revealing Professor Ozpin.

"Boom! Told ya!" Summer dug into her supper hungrily.

"But… why?" asked Qrow, eating more slowly as he tried to figure out this mental puzzle.

"Maybe," suggested Raven, "He did not come regarding your conspiracy theories, but rather because of the major Grimm breach this morning. He could be part of a council that deals with things like this, or he could just be here as a Huntsman." Her appetite was somewhat diminished after seeing the headmaster.

"Quit being all logical," said Taiyang, his mouth full.

Ozpin seemed to notice them, then, and dismissed himself from he Professor he was speaking with to walk in their direction. "Ugh," groaned Raven.

"Good evening," Ozpin greeted them, his usual placid expression firmly impressed on his face - unreadable. "It is good to see the four of you settled in to life at Atlas Academy. I trust that you're prepared to begin the Festival tournament soon as well."

Raven looked away as Summer shot her a concerned gaze. She knew that Summer's plans relied on her Semblance. "We're going to win it all, Oz," said Tai, grinning.

"Excellent. I'm looking forward to it." Ozpin turned away, but then turned back, as if he was forgetting something. "I will return to watch the final rounds of the tournament, but until then, I am giving each team one of these." He handed Qrow what looked to be a high-tech viewing screen. "It's a scroll, and it can be used to connect to myself or others through the CCT. This way, you can consult with us about tactics, or any other concerns."

"Cool," said Qrow, flipping through the device's screens. "Thanks."

"Best of luck in the tournament. I am looking forward to it." Ozpin turned away for real this time, and Raven was relieved that their conversation had been bearably short. She was, however, a little irked that Ozpin had thought of a way to communicate with them more easily, thus creating opportunity for more late-night adventures or research projects.

"Oh, that reminds me," said Summer. "Qrow, we're supposed to work on Plan W tonight in the library."

"You're all the way to W?" asked Raven.

"No, it just stands for win!" Summer smiled. "In reality, I'm only onto Plan L."

"That's still too many!" complained Tai. "Raven, want to go back to the room while these two crazies go to the library?"

"Don't you have a date with your new team?" asked Qrow, a little snarkily.

"Not tonight," said Tai, cheerful as ever.

"Sure," said Raven. She truly didn't care where she went, as long it was away from Ozpin and his schemes and the passive glances of Tai's new friends.

She trailed behind Tai as they walked through the long corridors back to the dormitory. Atlas was in the cold northern continent, so most of the buildings were connected by walkways or tunnels, to avoid having to walk outside. Although it took much longer to get back to the dormitory this way, Raven was too tired from the fight earlier to bear the exposure of going outside.

"Hey," said Tai, his voice unexpectedly serious. They descended into the tunnel that would take them to the residential side of the campus.

"Hey," Raven replied. She was too tired to feel nervous about his tone. Torches lit the pathway, casting eerie shadows about. Raven wished she had brought her sword to dinner.

"I'm sorry."

Raven felt her throat clench, though she wasn't exactly sure why she was feeling emotional. "Why?" she asked, her voice cracking. She was glad she was walking behind Tai.

"I've been a kind of shitty boyfriend. And before you make a quip about not knowing I'm your boyfriend, please hear me out."

Raven nodded, despite Tai not being able to see her. They were approaching the stairs to take them into the dormitory.

"I got concerned about my image here, and at the same time I was jealous of the rest of you having these secret missions and projects for Ozpin. I just-" he laughed derisively, "I just felt so _uncool_ compared to you all, when you were going on this missions at night, transforming magically, researching this crazy conspiracy, and dominating at combat while drunk."

He fumbled with the keys, unlocking their door. "I felt inadequate as a boyfriend, and teammate." He turned to face her then. "And also, I know it's just the way you are, but you don't do much to reassure me. That's why I spent so much time with JSMN: they would laugh at my jokes, we'd just spend time hanging out, I felt that I was important to them."

Raven sighed, biting her lip. She knew what Tai was trying to communicate. She knew what Tai needed her to say. She knew that solving Tai's problem would solve her own as well. But still, despite all of that, years of conditioning prevented her from speaking of her feelings from her heart. It wasn't that she couldn't think of words that she would say - it was that she didn't want to sound disingenuous. She had a feeling that he would pick up a certain note in her tone, a certain tremor in her voice, that would give away her mistrust, her fear of betrayal, and her hesitance to give _herself_ up to someone else.

She moved closer to him. "You're important to me," she said. She stood a couple inches shorter than him, and looked up into his eyes. "And in your own way, you're really, really cool."

Tai smiled, finally, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her towards his chest. "Can you say that again, so I can record it?" he teased.

"No, that was it. That was your one opportunity to hear those words from my mouth." She could smell him, she could feel his muscles beneath his clothes. She could sense his desire. She pulled away from him, her cheeks flushed.

He pulled her backwards to her bed, and she didn't resist. He sat back on the bed, and she straddled him, kissing him deeply. It was the first time she'd taken the initiative to kiss him. Grabbing her somewhat roughly, he pulled her down onto the mattress. Under the new moon, alone in the dormitory at Atlas, they made love for the first time. When they finished, Raven laid back, her thoughts only on Tai. Without meaning to, she opened a portal to him, the two ends of the portal side by side due to their closeness.

"Summer will be pleased," Tai said.

Raven raised her eyebrows, gesturing to the clothes strewn about.

" _About the portals!_ " he added, quickly.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22: A Vision

Summer felt an imaginary vice squeeze her chest as she sat with the rest of her team in the Amity Colosseum locker rooms. Despite endless hours of preparation, despite her excitement at the upcoming contest, Summer couldn't help but feel nervous. Thousands of spectators would be sitting and watching. Thanks to the CCT, the fight will be broadcast in close to real time across Remnant. And worst of all, the Vytal Festival team combat tournament was single-elimination: this round was 'win or go home'.

The other teams from Vale looked similarly green in anticipation of the first day of the tournament. Of course, thanks to the randomization, there was a chance they wouldn't have a fight on the first day, and would be awarded the opportunity to observe others first, get a feel for the competition, and rule out who their competitors would be.

Summer slapped herself gently on both cheeks. "Get it together, leader," she chastised herself. Just then, a thunderous roar sounded from above and around them as the Atlesian headmaster, John Ironwood, commenced the opening address.

Raven finished adjusting her sword and re-sheathed it. In new red and black combat clothes, hair long and wild, and her enormous sword at her side, she looked intimidating, to say the least. Qrow had gotten a new addition to his combat outfit, a red cape, which he said made him more stylish. In addition, Qrow and Raven's dark and brooding style and similar looks had earned their partnership the festival nickname of "The Black Death". Taiyang preferred "Murder Twins", since puns were his style.

Summer had also just purchased a new combat outfit, a black dress with a corset-style torso, worn with her now-quintessential white cape. She wore similar black boots as Raven, but then again, most of the girls at Beacon wore the same.

Taiyang had the same khaki-colored shorts and orange shirt as always, but he added new hand-wraps to his weapon. The straps wrapped around his wrists for better grip of his weapon, but he could also control them with his semblance and send them lashing out at enemies. He thought of the idea after the video of him fumbling around for his weapon emerged. Summer laughed, remembering the hilarious viral video.

"Alright, team, let's huddle up before we get called out there!" Summer said. They ducked out into the hallway and grouped close together for a talk before they would be ushered upstairs.

"I know this is pretty crazy, but we've totally got this!" Summer said. Her words came faster than usual, an outward expression of her internal anxiety.

"We're going to win. We already decided," said Raven stoically. Summer admired her teammate's confidence. She was thoroughly relieved when Raven regained her ability to create portals to Tai, and she had a slight idea of what had strengthened their bond, if Tai's perpetual grin and Qrow's perturbed expression were any indication.

"Raven's right. We just need to go out there, and stay our cool selves. No matter who we're matched up with, Barty's calculations say we have at least a 20% chance of winning."

"That's an 80% chance of losing," said Qrow. Gloom seemed to surround him.

"Think positive man," teased Tai, slapping him on the back. "Just think about how winning is easier than letting Summer down or facing Raven's wrath."

"A good point!" laughed Summer. An attendant ushered them back with the other Vale teams, and they ascended in a lift towards the stadium. While the seats in the audience were heated, the stadium combat zone was not, and on the ride up all of the Beacon contestants were given a fur cape emblazoned with the school's emblem. Summer slipped hers on, relishing the warmth of the garment.

The four Beacon teams walked out into the stadium to the school's song being played, and joined the students from Mistral, Vacuo, and Atlas. The others wore similar capes with their own schools' emblems. The seats were nearly full, and the noise from the crowd was deafening. Summer waved at one of the cameras, hoping her parents and sister would see her back home on the island.

Of course Summer had watched previous Vytal Festival tournaments from home, but to actually be in the Amity Colosseum was another matter. The arena was _huge_ , and made Summer feel like an ant. The rows of crowd went on and on, and the platform where they would be fighting was at least a half mile in diameter.

The Atlas headmaster gave them all a quick greeting, and then turned the microphone over to the Game Master, an incredibly short man named Igness Cray. "Today is the first round of the team combat tournament, and it will continue until each team has fought in one match." Igness cleared his throat as he recited the rules. "Aura trackers will monitor each team member's status through the wristbands that are being distributed now. Any Aura reading below 16% is an automatic elimination. I trust the team leaders to have thoroughly read the handbook and explained to their teammates the few other circumstances leading to elimination."

Summer nodded. Extreme or repeated unsportsmanlike conduct, attacking a player who has forfeited, and recklessly endangering your own teammates were also grounds for elimination, and judged based on a panel of three arbiters. The third circumstance was a new rule, added after the last Vytal Festival, when one player set off an explosion which took out his opponents and his two remaining teammates. His team won, but only by him sacrificing two of his teammates. The festival committee felt that this type of strategy did not match the spirit of the team competition.

Igness continued. "At the start of each fight, the combat area will be transformed into distinct halves, each filled with a randomly selected biome. Be sure to use these landscapes to your advantage, and consider how they might affect your semblance, and vice versa. The fights will end when all members of one team have been eliminated."

Igness hung up the microphone, and another booming voice filled the colosseum, this one from the announcer's booth. "Welcome, folks! My name is Indigo Rivera, and I am here with Margarita Kane. We will be your hosts this evening, as we begin the selection process for the first round. Please direct your attention to the screens…"

Summer looked up at the huge screens, and watched the teams' names shuffle into a matchup. The first round would be-

"It looks like it's Team MINT and Team FRST!" said a woman, presumably Margarita.

"Oh, shit!" said Tai. "That's the fourth year team from Mistral. I've been wanting to see them fight."

The teams who weren't competing were directed to seats reserved in the front of one of the sections. The biomes for the fight were randomized: glaciers and swamp.

"Over here!" directed Qrow, leading them to four seats at the top of one of the player's boxes. The other players dispersed, leaving them somewhat isolated. "Amateurs," Qrow scoffed. "They think front row is the way to go, but you need some elevation to actually see what was going on."

He was right. From where she sat, Summer could barely see across the whole playing field. If she was any lower, she would only be able to see the action on the close side of the stadium. In what seemed like no time at all, the fight began. Summer snuggled deeper into the fur cape as she watched Team MINT spread out along the desert, while Team FRST primarily moved to the swamp.

"Go, Morgana! Come on, Tricia!" she called. Despite Qrow's cool demeanor, Summer knew he would be rooting for Tricia. A strange wave of dizziness hit Summer and she sat back down. Her vision momentarily blurred. Shaking her head, she turned back to the fight.

Inez was locked in combat with Francis Greene, according to the roster posted below the aura meter. Next to a picture of each team member's face was their name and school. Niki and Morgana were teamed up to take on Sameer Night. Tricia was taking two at once, named Ricardo and Timon.

Summer blinked as her vision clouded again. She stood, intending to use the bathroom to splash some water on her face and focus, but stumbled back into her seat. "Summer?" she could hear Raven's voice calling her, concerned, but she couldn't answer. Around her, she could hear cheers and boos indicating that something had happened in the fight.

Summer was walking through a forest. She knew she wasn't really there, but this was more than dreaming. She could _feel_ her footfalls on the soft forest floor, she could _hear_ the birds chirping in her own ears. She looked down at her hands and saw that they weren't her hands at all. She seemed to be inhabiting another person. She tried to stop walking but this other woman walked on.

It was hard to tell if this vision was past, present, or future, since there was nothing in the forest to orient herself with. The woman encountered a Grimm, but did not reach for the sword at her side. The Geist moved closer, hovering creepily above the ground, reaching black arms towards her, but still the woman did not budge. Summer was trying to move her arms, to do anything to protect her from this creature. Finally, with the Grimm nearly within arms reach, power burst forth from the woman. But it wasn't the power of aura, Summer could tell. It came from the woman's eyes, from Summer's eyes. A flash of silver light and the Geist was gone, disappeared into a pile of black Grimm matter. The woman strode on.

Summer opened her eyes, gasping for breath. Her team was huddled around her. "Summer!" said Tai, embracing her. "Are you alright?"

The twins looked at her in concern as well. "I just had a strange vision," she said, surprised by how shaky her voice sounded. Looking down, she saw she was trembling. "I'm ok," she assured them, though the wasn't sure if she managed to convince herself.

"You really ought to see a medic," said Raven. "You don't look well."

"I will, if I still feel bad after this fight. Sit down, everyone, I want to see how it ends."

It was down to two versus two. On FRST's side, Sameer and Ricardo remained. On MINT's side, Morgana and Tricia. The partners from Vale fought on opposite sides of the stadium, Morgana taking on Sameer in the desert, while Ricardo fought Tricia in the swamp.

"What the hell is Tricia's weapon?" asked Tai.

"It's a dust thrower," said Qrow. "Like a flame thrower, but with any dust she chooses."

Ricardo was running from Tricia, his fencing sword a poor match for her weapon. Suddenly, inexplicably, he was dragged backwards through murky swamp waters, as if an invisible hand was dragging him back to Tricia. "And her semblance is summoning," Qrow continued, laughing as he watched. An arrow came out of nowhere, hitting Ricardo in the shoulder, and his aura meter plummeted to 12%. He was eliminated. "That was my opponent!" Tricia cursed, stomping her foot.

Summer looked across the arena for Morgana, who wielded the crossbow, and saw that she was over 400 meters away, stalking Sameer as he moved between rocks, occasionally shooting at her with what seemed to be a handheld railgun. After a moment, Sameer, too, began to slide against his will towards Tricia. He turned towards her, shooting the gun desperately. One projectile struck true, grazing Tricia's cheek before another one of Morgana's arrows lodged itself in his back.

"No one gets away with making my partner bleed," the pink-haired girl said.

"That range!" said Tai, ecstatic over the victory. "Summer, she might even beat you in shooting!"

"Her semblance is focus," said Qrow. "If she activates it, her arrow will always strike true."

"Hmm, so she's definitely a better shot than me," said Summer, "But she has no defense. I'll have to sneak up on her if we fight."

"Are you sure you feel alright?" whispered Raven to Summer as the boys stood up to cheer for Team MINT's victory.

"Yeah. The vision was weird, but I feel back to normal now. Just another thing to research, I guess."

"It's… concerning," said Raven. She looked at Summer with a softer expression than Summer had ever seen her wear. "Back in the tribe, strange visions either meant something miraculous was to happen, or something terrible. Most often, it was the latter."

"You never tell me about your life there," said Summer. "I want to know more about how you and Qrow grew up."

Raven sighed, seeming to anticipate but not appreciate this comment.

The selection wheel spun again, this time landing on Team JSMN and Team SPHR. "Team JSMN of Atlas vs. Team SPHR of Vacuo!" called Igness. And they will be fighting in… jungle and lava! How exciting!"

"We came to the tribe when we were about six, but I can't be sure. I can't even be sure we're the age we think we are now. We'd been traded around and kept with slaver's for a good year and a half by my guess."

Summer watched the teams line up, amazed that Raven was opening up to her. On the other side, Tai and Qrow were gawking at the all-female Team SPHR. Hailing from the desert, their combat outfits were rather skimpy, in Summer's opinion. "Begin!" called Igness.

"We were raised in that tribe. The Erres'l is pretty famous in Anima. They taught us how to read, cook, tell when someone is lying, and most importantly, how to fight. I slayed my first Grimm when I was ten. I fought my first fight against an enemy when I was twelve. I led the tribe in combat before I left for Beacon. The matriarch there, Banya, she's the closest thing we had to a parent."

"What's she like?" asked Summer. She watched as this fight unfolded much differently than the last one. Team JSMN moved to the jungle as a unit, and refused to be separated. This provided them with some defense, but still, the girls of SPHR swept down from the trees like guerilla fighters.

"She's _strong,"_ said Raven. "Mentally, physically, emotionally. She's the strongest person I've ever met. Made of pure willpower. But still, she wasn't hardened and scary. She welcomed Qrow and I into her tribe, she always made sure we were looked after."

"That sounds like you," Summer said. Raven blushed a deep shade of red and turned away.

"It doesn't," she muttered. "I'm nothing like that."

"Maybe you can't see it, but I can." The buzzer sounded and Summer turned back to see who had been eliminated.


	23. Chapter 23

Unity. Strength. Integrity.

-Vytal Festival Virtues

Chapter 23:

Taiyang stood with his teammates, waiting for the selector to finish spinning.

"Looks like it will be blizzard and dunes!" announced Margarita, her voice as cheery as ever. On this particular day in Atlas, day 2 of the tournament, the snow was falling hard and Team STRQ was minutes away from facing Team OPAL of Atlas.

"We don't need a blizzard biome when we've already got a blizzard raging out here!" joked Igness. The stadium transfigured into sand dunes and a blizzarding tundra before their eyes. Team OPAL, all fourth year males, stared menacingly back, in a way that suggested they didn't see Team STRQ as 'real' opponents.

"Teams ready?" asked Igness. Summer and OPAL's team leader, Onyx Chamile, raised their hands to signal that each team was set. Tai glanced at the roster. The other members were names Pyotr, Anansi, and Lemy. Tai glanced at the dunes… close to his home in Vacuo. Perhaps he'd have an advantage there.

The horn buzzed to begin the match, the crowd went wild, and Team STRQ spread out. The twins took to the blizzard while Tai and Summer moved out into the sand dunes. Qrow and Raven were to act as the front lines, taking on the top-level opponents. Summer was to defend them from a high point, and Tai was to watch Summer's back and take out enemies from the rear. And if the tide of battle changed, Raven's portals could reverse their positions. It all seemed like a simple plan now, but it was the result of hours and hours of Summer's strategies.

Tai watched Pyotr round towards him. The Atlesian boy held a lance that glowed eerily, indicating it was likely imbued with Dust. Despite his efforts to focus, Tai thought again of Summer's strange trance in the stands the other day, and glanced back at her to make sure she was alright. She was firing an arrow in the other direction, and a few moments later, Tai saw as Onyx's aura dropped ten points.

"Hey, you!" called Pyotr, taunting Tai to attention. Taiyang turned around, his hook-like knives raised.

Pyotr charged, his chest bare and tattooed despite the snow. A shock of white hair stood from his head, and he looked properly insane running towards Taiyang. An arrow struck him as his focus was on Taiyang, and Tai took the distraction to dodge the lance and move in close, striking him against his left flank with the kama. Pyotr's aura kicked in, but took quite a hit from the blow.

They continued to battle, Tai unaware of how any of his teammates were doing besides himself. His own aura had dropped to 50% due to exhaustion and a multitude of minor hits from Pyotr. The Atlas boy was doing much worse, and looked exhausted. As Tai came in for another attack, the boy suddenly threw his lance. Ice Dust launched it forward, hitting Summer square between the shoulder blades. Her aura dropped to 20%. Tai finished Pyotr with a punch square in the jaw, and the crowd erupted in cheers and jeering as the first elimination took place.

Tai did not want to go fight in the blizzard, but it didn't appear that the others would be coming to the sand dunes any time soon. A portal appeared and Tai ran through, appearing in a snowstorm that reminded him disconcertingly of the Grimm breach a few weeks prior. Finally, Tai spotted Qrow, the lower half of his face stained red from a broken nose spurting blood. "Where's Raven?" he called, straining to be heard over the howling wind. An arrow zipped past them, hitting Lemy, who continued his battle with Qrow.

Tai had a feeling Summer was nearby. Her semblance was perfect in an environment like this. With too much noise and chaos around her, she was undetectable. Even with her low aura, she should still be able to get some hits. "She's beyond those pines," Qrow called back. "I think."

Tai went in the direction Qrow indicated, and watched as Raven battled Onyx, their swords clashing. The aura meter, barely visible through the snow, showed that Onyx was at 30% while Raven was at 21%. This fight was close. As they moved, Tai caught sight of a deep gash along Raven's shoulder blade. Her shirt was torn and her skin glowed the same crimson as her brother's face.

Tai spotted Anansi moving quietly between the trees. He seemed to have the same role as Summer on their team, guarding the back and attacking when opportune. Just as he lined up his blowgun towards Raven, Tai lashed out one of the straps from around his wrist. Imbued with added gravity, the strap knocked the weapon out of Anansi's hands. It then wrapped around his ankle, pulling him back towards Taiyang. The boy cried out, and as Onyx looked over, Raven got a good swing in, slicing towards Onyx's trapezius. While his aura activated, it now hung at 17%. He was desperate, swinging madly.

Summer's arrows flew in from nowhere, one, two, and then three into Anansi. _Bzzzzzz!_ sounded the buzzer. Raven kicked Onyx and he flew back into a rock, hitting his head rather hard. _Bzzzzzzz!_

The three Team STRQ members rushed back to where Qrow was fighting Lemy. He stumbled a bit, Aura hovering at 18%. Lemy wore extensive armour and fought with a spiked club befitting of his brutish figure. "Get back!" Raven called as she burst through her portal to Qrow, swinging her katana at Lemy. The sword clanged against the armor but did not dent it, and Raven flew back as if shocked. "It's Dust-imbued!" she shouted. "Electricity!"

Recoating in the blink of an eye she swung again, emitting an huge cloud of steam. Recoating her sword once again she swung again with ice Dust, until the armor frosted over. The club finally clashed with her sword and she was thrown back, but Tai and Qrow moved in together, smashing the now-extremely-brittle armour, until enough was gone that Summer could finish him off with arrows. _Bzzzzt!_

The crowds erupted in cheering as Team STRQ beat one of the home teams without a single elimination. Tai hugged Summer, who was nearly shaking from excitement. "We did it!" she shouted, beaming.

Raven and Qrow had their arms around each other, Qrow wiping his face off with a glob of snow. Pulling on Tai's hand, Summer brought him over to the twins, where they stood all four together, waving at the crowd.

A strange thought came to Tai then, of his uncle back in Vacuo, the one bit by the King Taijitu. " _Don't become a Huntsman for the glory,"_ he had warned.

Exhausted, auras nearly depleted, they walked into the tunnel that led back to the Vale locker rooms. After changing, showering, and visiting a medic to correct Qrow's broken nose, the team took the airship back to campus and walked slowly to the dorms. "I'll go get food!" Tai volunteered. "I've got the most aura left, so you all can rest."

"Bragging about the fight, huh?" teased Qrow.

For once, Tai didn't bother to answer. He walked down to the dining hall, grabbed a few to-go plates, and loaded them with the team's favorite foods. There was one more match that night, between a team from Vacuo and one from Atlas, so not many people were back yet.

"Mr. Xiao Long, congratulations."

Tai looked up, not realizing he wasn't alone. It was Ozpin who had spoken, and he was certain Ozpin hadn't been there a moment ago. "Thank you, Professor Ozpin," he said at last. He couldn't help the distant tone in his voice. Although he didn't have strong feelings either way about the professor, he couldn't fully accept someone who upset Raven so much.

"It was a most impressive fight. Everyone will certainly be speaking of Team STRQ tomorrow at breakfast."

"I didn't become a Huntsman for glory," Tai replied. He wasn't certain if he was telling Ozpin or himself.

"Wise boy. Unfortunately, some things are not within our control."

"What are you trying to tell me?" Tai had to agree with Raven that Ozpin's cryptic way of explaining himself got old quickly.

"I'm saying that you all are becoming fairly well known, throughout all of Remnant. Just be aware that you are living life in the spotlight."

"Noted. If that's all professor, I think I'll be getting back to my teammates."

"Surely. Give Miss Rose and Mr. and Miss Branwen my regards."

Tai walked through the deserted Atlas Academy halls with a strange sensation of being watched. He shivered, which was pretty typical for his time at this cold northern school, however, with his hands full with food he was unable to reach into his pocket for a penlight or for warmth.

When he got back to the room, the chill disappeared not due to the warmth of the room, which was freezing, but from the sight of his teammates. They were gathered around the window, which was pulled wide open, gaping at something in the courtyard.

Tai put the food on a table and walked over to see what their attention was on. Freshman girls were gathered in a crowd, holding up a sign that read _Qrow Branwen, marry me!_ Beside them were two older students, each holding a sign that said _Summer Rose, please be my girlfriend!_

"Aw, look, Rae, there's one for you too," teased Qrow. Sure enough, in the corner of the courtyard was a tall, muscular boy who looked to be a year or two younger than them, with a sign that read _Raven Branwen, I challenge you to a duel._

"For Summer's heart, probably," joked Raven. Summer blushed. "You can't have Summer, she's mine!" Raven shouted to the boys, embracing Summer in a dramatic hug. Someone's camera clicked, and Tai was sure the girls were going to star in the school paper again soon.

"Aww, no love for me Summer?" teased Qrow.

"That's Tricia's problem to deal with," Raven joked as Summer made a show of running her fingers through Raven's hair for the students below.

Tai laughed at the antics of his teammates as he pulled down plates and silverware for dinner.

Finally shutting the window and drawing the curtains, the others sat down for dinner. "Hey, Raven, you're still bleeding," Tai said, noticing a red-purple stain on Raven's grey t-shirt.

"Damn it, I need to get stronger," she cursed. "Just let it be, I'll deal with it after dinner."

"So, um, this won't make your mood any better, but I saw Ozpin in the dining hall."

"What did he want?" asked Qrow, talking with his mouth full.

"Nothing, really. He warned me about us becoming well-known? It was strange."

"I wonder what he's worried about," mused Summer.

"You didn't tell him about Summer's… dream, did you?" asked Raven.

"I- uh, no. No I didn't even think to."

"Good. He'd probably think of some way to exploit it."

"I'm telling you, it was probably nothing!" Summer protested, ignoring her food and reaching straight for a cookie.

" _Things like that are never nothing_!" Raven looked around and blushed, somewhat ashamed that she had shouted. Taiyang bit hit lip, unsure of how to proceed in this uncomfortable situation.

"So, chief," Qrow cut in, "Who fights in the next round?"

Summer sighed, contemplating this question as she nibbled her cookie. "To be honest, I haven't really decided. I wish we could know our opponents. If it were a team like NAVY or MINT, I wouldn't be much help, but if it were BRGT or JSMN, I'd have a clear advantage. I have to think on it more. In the meantime, everyone stay in top shape."

Taiyang hadn't even thought about the next rounds. With less people, it was obvious that he might not be selected to fight. In fact, he could be done with fighting for the whole rest of the tournament. _Do not become a Huntsman for the glory!_ The phrase echoed in his head, taunting him.

"Whatever you end up choosing, we'll all support you." This was Raven, of whom Taiyang never expected to make a statement of that nature.

"Thank you. Let's get to bed early," said Summer. "Unfortunately, we somehow still have lecture in the morning." It was true. While the later rounds of the festival were held on a week-long holiday from classes, the first round was fought over two weekends with classes between.

Tai hastily cleaned up the dishes from their dinner, changed into pajamas, and got ready for bed. Summer helped Raven bandage the cut on her shoulder, and Qrow sipped lovingly from his flask. It was a Vytal Festival variation of the traditional Team STRQ evening ritual.

Once the lights were out, Tai was asleep in an instant. He awoke sometime later to the sound of shattered glass. An eerie red light was cast into the room, giving enough light for Tai to see his teammates sitting up. Raven was clutching her weapon, crouched on the bed and ready to spring. Deftly, Summer slipped out of her bed, slipped on her boots, and walked over the broken glass. She used her semblance to dampen the sound, and picked up the offending object that had smashed the window. It was a muffin-sized rock, and tied to it was a note. Summer read it then passed it to Tai. It read _stay out of things that do not concern you, Team STRQ._

"Look!" called Qrow in a whisper, pointing out the window. In the courtyard stood three figures, masked and wearing long, dark robes. In an instant Raven jumped from their fourth floor window down into the courtyard, landing with a roll which she transitioned into a swing of her sword as she stood. The figures vanished into puffs of smoke.

Raven threw her sword up, back towards the window, and Tai and Summer backed away. As the sword reached the apex of the climb, Tai realized she was aiming for the source of the eerie red light, a strange orb floating just above the window. Lazily, the orb drifted out of the way and Raven caught her sword as it flew back towards the ground. She cursed lightly under her breath as the courtyard faded into darkness again.

By the time Raven climbed back up into their room, Qrow had already sent an update of the strange happenings to Ozpin through the scroll, at Summer's behest. Raven didn't show any annoyance at this development, and instead went back to bed. Unsure of what else to do, Tai swept up the broken pieces of glass and plugged up the broken pane with bunched-up towels and duct tape. He was certain he did not want to wake anyone up at this hour and explain what had happened.

At last, Tai lay back in his bed once again, now feeling very much awake, despite the exhaustion that still wracked his body. There was something more than a little strange about the events that had just occurred. Tai wished he felt angry, it would help him get a grip on the situation. Instead he just felt lost, and fearful. The whole thing was downright creepy, and if he told himself the truth, the glowing red orb seemed uncannily like an eye. But whose eye would be watching them in the dead of night….


	24. Chapter 24

Striving, O nearly unpronounceable athletes,  
To animate the air with dancing feet raising  
A golden pollen of dust: a pervasive blur  
Of seedlets in the sunlight, whirling—beyond mere  
Victory or applause or performance,  
As victory is beyond defeat.

- _Glory,_ Robert Pinsky

Chapter 24: A Duel

Qrow sat in the training room with Raven and Taiyang, waiting for Summer to meet them. Tai had his head back against the locker. He appeared to be deep in thought but Qrow knew he was probably just thinking up new puns. Raven was doing a detailed cleaning and maintenance session on her weapon. Dust cartridges, ball bearings, and other tiny parts were spread out around her.

As for Qrow, he sat contentedly, perhaps a little nervous, as he anticipated Summer's return. Every few seconds he'd glance down at the scroll, waiting for a message from Ozpin. Five days had passed since the strange window-shattering event, but Ozpin's promises to have a colleague 'look into it' seemed to have not come to fruition.

The scroll blinked to life at last. _I'll be there this evening. Then I can look into the matter myself._

Qrow, who felt comfortable enough with Ozpin to make jokes typed back: _We'll try to stay alive until then._

The reply from Ozpin came almost immediately. _You must!_ A shiver shook Qrow as he read Ozpin's serious reply to his teasing statement. Were they really in danger?

Footsteps from down the hall, light and quick, indicated that Summer was approaching.

"Finally! I can't handle this tension!" said Tai, standing up to pace.

"Hello, Tai. Hello Raven. Hello Qrow!" chirped Summer as she walking in to the room. Her black tactics notebook was clutched to her chest.

"Hey, chief!" said Qrow, addressing her with the title only he used.

"Have you made a decision?" Tai asked, pacing the room but keeping a wide berth from Raven and her explosive toys.

Summer nodded. "I've been working quite a bit with Barty and communicating with Professor Grey as well. Based on the opponents we're likely to face, each person on our team's strengths and weaknesses, and planning ahead for the final round, I've decided Raven and Taiyang should compete."

"You're not competing?" asked Tai. "Qrow's not competing? I'm competing?"

Summer nodded again, searching her notebook for the appropriate page. "There's a 70% chance we fight opponents best attacked with close-range weapons. Raven's our strongest fighter, and her portals are indispensable, so I selected her first. Then it came down to you and Qrow."

Summer sat on a bench, meeting Qrow's eyes. "I know you're an excellent fighter, it's just-"

Qrow smiled. "My semblance is a bitch, and Taiyang's is pretty useful."

"Yes, that was part of it. But also I think that it will throw our opponents off to have two very different fighting styles out there, and Tai is extremely calm under pressure, and he's good with going with the flow, which is advantageous."

"You made the right choice, chief."

"Plus, now we can have all the beer and cookies we want while these two carry our team's honor forward."

"Oh, come on, you'll be right there in the front row, shouting at us the whole time. It's impossible for you to relax just because you're not fighting, Summer." Raven laughed as she snapped the Dust cartridges back into her sword's sheath.

Qrow's disappointment about not being selected was brief, and was overshadowed by his desire to relax and have a good time at the Festival. He preferred fighting Grimm to these 'fake' fights, and this sort of pivotal stuff always came down to Raven, anyways. He was surprised that Taiyang was selected instead of Summer, though he understood her rationale.

From the original sixteen teams, eight would be competing in the second round. Since only two from each team were fighting, 75% of the contestants were already done competing. The Vytal Festival Tournament was swift and harsh.

"So, chief, tell us your evil plans!"

Summer spent the next hour or so going over the tactics she'd developed with Professor Grey. Qrow added input where he thought he could help, though mostly he was perpetually impressed with Summer's skills at making battle plans.

"There's a lot of different ways this fight could play out, so we need to plan many options. The worst thing we could do is just fight on instinct!"

"You sound just like Grey," laughed Taiyang. "You've even got her catchphrase."

"If you're going to go spar now, I'm going to head back to the room," said Qrow.

"You should come with," said Summer. "Just because we're not fighting doesn't mean we aren't team members. We can offer support, critique, and act as the opposition!"

Qrow smiled. His resolve was always weakened by Summer's innocent goodwill. "Alright, let me just run up there quickly and I'll meet you at the pitch."

"Feed Cinna while you're up there!" called Raven.

Qrow did as she asked, grabbing some vegetables from the common room fridge for the rabbit. Everyone except Raven called her Sugar now, since her reddish fur had whitened in the arctic climate. While up in the room Qrow fished around under his bed for the bottle of whiskey he was currently drinking his way through, and refilled his flask. He also grabbed the homework he was way behind on so Summer could help him while Tai and Raven practiced.

On the way out to the training pitch, Qrow took the tunnels. Although there were portable heaters on the benches around the pitches, it was still chilly outside, and he wanted to delay his exposure for as long as possible. Turning a corner so that he was walking beneath the library archives, Qrow stopped as he saw a familiar face.

The old man looked at him, squinting for a moment before seeming to recognize Qrow as well. "You're the lad down at the tavern poking around fer maidens and," he lowered his voice, " _Salem."_

"I am. You're a regular down there," Qrow acknowledged. "And I was more subtle than you make it sound."

"True," said the man, whose face was still shrouded in shadow. "But I've got an ear for such words, and I'm afraid so do some others, more dangerous than I."

"Who are you?" asked Qrow. He was sure he'd never spoken to this man before.

"I am Leaf Malone. And you are Qrow Branwen."

"You're the author! _Grimm Genesis!_ L. Malone."

"Correct. Though that's a rare tome for you to know."

"Well my team leader is very interested in Grimm Theory so-"

"Listen, boy, and listen well." Malone stepped forward and put his hands on Qrow's shoulders. In the light he looked old and fatigued, and pale, like he didn't get much sunlight. "If I know your name, it means you've been sloppy. If I know your name, then it's certain that _she_ knows your name, and likely your sister's as well."

A cold sensation of dread spread throughout Qrow's gut. He was sloppy. This Salem, whoever she was knew who he was. In fact, it seemed likely that she had been the one spying on them a few nights ago. Qrow suddenly felt in over his head.

"I must go now, boy. Stay vigilant!" Malone walked away through the tunnels with such silence that Qrow began to doubt he'd really seen the man in the first place.

Ozpin's warning seemed much more dire in light of this conversation. Qrow rushed to the training pitches to see the faces of his teammates and to be within the reach of the sun. Surely someone as nefarious as Salem wouldn't act while the bright sun shone down over Atlas….

When Qrow got to the training pitches, a wet sleet had begun to fall. He tucked his homework and the scroll within his cloak and opened an umbrella Summer handed to him. He noticed a strange look on her face as she greeted him. Tai and Raven were warming up by sparring each other. Qrow took a sip of his whiskey and passed the flask to Summer, who took a long swig as well.

"What's bothering you, chief?"

They sat on the benches under the heaters. "Me? What's bothering you? You look pale, like you saw a ghost."

Qrow told Summer about Malone.

"That's… very strange. Why was he at a Huntsman's Academy?"

"For the Festival?" suggested Qrow.

"Perhaps, but shouldn't he be staying in town?"

"Yeah, I suppose. I wonder how serious this is… I mean the rock and those masked figures, and this warning just now. I guess we'll be able to talk to Oz about it soon, since he's coming for this round." Qrow took another swig of whiskey, and it managed to calm his nerves and warm him up a little. "Now tell me, what's on your mind?"

Summer sighed, watching Raven spar tirelessly with Tai. "That… dream, or whatever it was, it happened again."

"Same thing?"

"Pretty much. I was someone else, I was surrounded by Grimm, there was a flash of light, and I was back."

"Are you going to tell Oz?"

"I'm not sure. You're the only person I've told."

Qrow did not see Ozpin at dinner that night, nor did he get a message on the scroll. The window remained sealed off with towels and duct tape, and there was no more eerie red light. Still, Qrow slept restlessly, tossing and turning.

He woke up in the wee hours of the morning, and took a walk down the hall to get some water from the common room fridge. He was surprised to find Raven there, sitting on a couch and looking out the window into the darkness.

"Morning," he greeted her. She didn't reply.

"Care for a drink?" he offered, handing her the flask. She took it but didn't drink from it.

"Rae- what's going on?" He sat down on the couch beside her.

"I don't know," she said at last. "I think we're in trouble. Somehow, somewhere, we did something to piss of this 'Salem', or one of her underlings."

"I think so, too."

She moved, finally, to turn her head and look at him. "I don't like it, Qrow."

Qrow didn't have a good response. In fact, deep down he knew that the one who had been sloppy, the one who caused Team STRQ to 'piss off' Salem was likely him. Instead he sat, staring out into the snow beside his sister.

The next day was the beginning of the second round of matches. Eight teams remained, with four matches per day. Summer, Qrow, Raven, and Taiyang were once again standing in the middle of the arena, wearing their fur capes and listening to the schools' anthems. Igness welcomed the crowd back, and Qrow could distantly see Ozpin sitting in box seats in the stands, besides a long-haired man he didn't recognize.

The randomizer spun, broadcasted on a large screen, and settled on Team JSMN vs. Team STRQ.

"First? Seriously?!" cursed Summer. Qrow could see the gears in her brain spinning as she tried to think of a last minute plan.

The biome randomizer spun. They would be fighting in prairie, canyons, geysers, and volcano. "Great, two things that erupt," muttered Tai.

Qrow half listened as Summer explained her plans to Raven and Taiyang. He watched as the other students left the combat area, eventually including Norbert and Sabrina. It would be James Ironwood and Mina Kura fighting for the Atlas team. Qrow and Summer were ushered back to the stands as well.

True to Raven's prediction, Summer, rushed to the front of the stands, where she at least stood a slim chance of being able to yell to Raven and Tai. Qrow sat towards the back of their section, where the vantage was greatest. The crowd was roaring, and Qrow watched Raven, Tai, James, and Mina's faces appear on huge screens sharing aura meters with the audience.

"Home favorites JSMN will be up against a force from the south, Team STRQ!" said Margarita excitedly. James pulled out two revolvers from inside his jacket, and Mina pulled out what looked to be a dancing ribbon. She wore a dress that looked to be more suited to a figure skating show than combat. Raven had her hand on her sword, and Tai was meticulously wrapping his straps to his wrists as his claw-like blades were gripped in his hands.

The biomes emerged from nothing, and the contest began. Instantly, there were two Minas, then four. Then six surrounded Tai. Raven, meanwhile, dashed off to the canyons, with James in pursuit.

"It seems I've made it just in time," said someone, sitting in the seat beside Qrow. He turned to see who the newcomer was and discovered it was Professor Ozpin.

"Ozpin! What are you doing here?"

"The teachers' box became a bit stuffy," he said, eyes on the fighting.

Tai was now among the geysers, Minas all around him, twirling their ribbons. He jumped to swing at one, but another Mina swung her ribbon and hit Tai, his aura instantly dropping ten points. "Ahh, clever," said Oz. "A semblance using illusions, and a delicate-looking weapon reinforced with Dust."

Raven opened a portal, and Tai dashed through, escaping Mina for the moment. The two of them moved through the canyon crevices, dodging bullets as Raven searched for a way to get close to Ironwood. Soon, Mina caught up with them, multiplying herself once again as she surrounded Raven on both sides and above.

"The view is better where you were," said Qrow to Ozpin. He could sense that Ozpin did not just come to spend some time together.

"It's true. However, I heard you spoke to Malone the other day. And I'm growing concerned about everything that's happened. I fear I am to blame for the danger you're now in."

"How much danger?" asked Qrow, watching Mina take a nasty hit from Raven.

"That remains unclear. It seems that something is stopping the White Witch from being able to act, at least directly." Mina returned the favor, slashing Raven's cheek with her whip-like weapon. The pair parried into the volcano territory. Meanwhile, Tai was swatting away Dust bullets with his claws, and trying to send the gravitized straps at Ironwood, but it seemed that his opponent used some kind of force fields.

"I see." Qrow reached for his flask but stopped short, realizing he should probably wait until the professor had gone.

Raven seemed to have an innate ability to sense which Mina was the original, because Mina's aura was becoming depleted quickly. Tai called to Raven, and she opened the portal per Summer's plan, but before Tai could jump in, Ironwood dove through, guns blazing, and shot Raven at point blank range. Qrow clenched his fists, his dislike of Ironwood growing, and he watched Raven's aura hover just above the threshold. Unfortunately, the portal had closed, and Tai was scrambling to get over to the volcano to help.

Summer was cursing and flipping through her notebook. "Plan Bear!" she was calling, but it seemed to fall on deaf ears. Raven was holding her own fairly well against both James and Mina, but everyone knew one slip up would get her eliminated. Finally, Tai appeared, gravity-enhanced from higher ground. He was coming in full force at Mina, but she was bound to see him. Just then, Raven left an opening as she turned to attack Ironwood, which Mina pounced on, eliminating Raven. Tai got the hit in and Mina was eliminated as well. In seconds, half the contestants were finished. Raven, bleeding from the last hit from the ribbon, walked to the edge of the arena, cheering for Tai the whole way.

"An interesting decision by Miss Branwen," Ozpin commented. Apparently he had also noticed her gesture to ensure Tai's attack succeeded.

"Raven does what she has to. Opening the portal was a mistake, but she more than made up for it with that."

"Agreed. However this is one of the many ways the Tournament fails to mimic real-life combat. One cannot sacrifice oneself for team victory against a Grimm."

"Technically, one _can,_ " replied Qrow. Normally he got along well with Ozpin, but something in the professor's tone irked him at the moment. Qrow turned back to the fight. Tai was chasing James through hard-packed dirt with intermittent geysers erupting. They were both deft, but both managed to get soaked quickly. So far, Ironwood seemed to have the advantage, since his weapon was ranged and his forcefields seemed to deflect any incoming attacks. Tai was fighting passionately, and seemed engulfed in emotion. Tai stopped suddenly, activating his semblance directly at Ironwood. With gravity increased, his opponent was rooted to the spot. Unfortunately, he was stopped right over the mouth of a geyser which promptly erupted.

Activating his forcefield to stop the flow of water, Tai took the chance to turn off gravity for Ironwood, and he sat high in the air, pushed up by the spouting water. Tai jumped up for an attack, knocking on of Ironwood's pistols from his hand. All at once, the water stopped and the gravity kicked back in, and Ironwood fell ten feet or so to the ground. Tai came in quickly again, striking in rapid succession before Ironwood could get a shot off. Somehow, miraculously, he had won.

Ironwood slunk off the playing field as Raven ran back on to congratulate Tai. Qrow left Ozpin and joined Summer down on the playing field as well, the biomes shifting back to neutral as they crossed them. Tai was ecstatic, hugging everyone, waving to the crowds, and Qrow couldn't help but get caught up in it as well. He allowed himself to forget his troubles for this one evening.


	25. Chapter 25

DELUSIONS of the days that once have been,  
Witchcraft and wonders of the world unseen,  
Phantoms of air, and necromantic arts  
That crushed the weak and awed the stoutest hearts,—  
These are our theme to-night; and vaguely here,  
Through the dim mists that crowd the atmosphere,  
We draw the outlines of weird figures cast  
In shadow on the background of the Past.

 _-Salem Witchcraft_ , Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Chapter 25: An Encounter

Something was _wrong._ Raven knew, in her heart, something was very, very wrong. Dread seemed to envelop her as she walked through the dark, snowy forest, slowing her down and quickening her pulse. She should be watching Tai compete in the Vytal Festival Tournament championships right now, not freezing her butt off on a mission under moonlight.

She hadn't planned for this. That morning, she sat at breakfast with her teammates, giving Tai the confidence he needed to fight that evening. All four of the finals round matches would be fought that evening, and the victor with the greatest aura differential would be champion of the tournament. Raven knew Tai thought that she should fight in the match, but Raven agreed with Summer. Taiyang had a certain tenacity and outlook that helped him in high-pressure situations. He also wasn't camera-shy, which was important in a competition with all of Remnant watching.

At some point in the afternoon, after Tai had left to go to a competitor's meeting, Leaf Malone had approached them, alongside one of their Atlas instructors, Professor Hart. They had been walking towards the stadium when the they were intercepted, the short, stubby Malone and the tall, regal Professor Hart out-of-breath from running to greet them.

"Orders from Professor Ozpin-" wheezed Malone.

"He sent us to tell you immediately," Hart continued. "He said the scroll wasn't secure and the message could be intercepted."

"What's going on?" asked Summer, naturally taking the lead.

"Children. There have been reports of missing children in a nearby village, and there's reason to believe they're being held in the caverns you have already explored."

"Why can't a Huntsman go?" asked Raven. It always irked her when Ozpin would send them out to do a job someone who had a full education and more free time could do.

"Ozpin insisted you go both because you can access and escape the caverns easily, and because you're familiar with them," said Hart.

"Portals and bird powers and illusions," muttered Qrow.

"If you're concerned, the intel reports the kidnapped children should be there alone."

"Alright," said Summer, slapping her cheeks lightly to steel herself. "Let's go quickly and hope Tai has the last fight so we don't miss it!"

It took them longer to get to the caverns on foot, but since Summer didn't have transformation powers, it was necessary. The sun fell low in the sky as they walked, and Raven wished more and more she was back at the Vytal Festival, not on some godforsaken quest on behalf of Ozpin. Qrow flew into the deep valley in his bird form, and Raven used her portal to Qrow to bring herself and Summer in as well. She could not shake the dread, even now, moments from fulfilling their objective.

"Qrow, why don't you sent a message to Ozpin to let him know we're here," suggested Summer.

"He said the scroll wasn't secure," Qrow answered, but still he pulled it from his pocket.

"Send something vague. He's clever, I'm sure he'll know what you mean."

Qrow sent a message which read "Running errands, we'll be a few minutes late to the stadium." Then, they headed inside the caverns.

Immediately, Raven heard the distant sounds of children crying. She shivered as she was reminded of her own childhood. Summer gave her a look of concern. They moved deeper into the cavern, following the noises of the children. Raven knew they were going to get to that pit of black sludge soon, an area she wished to never set eyes on again.

"Did Ozpin reply?" asked Summer.

"No signal in here," grunted Qrow. He sounded just as displeased as Raven felt to be back in this cavern.

Raven suddenly wished that Tai was with them. The three of them on this bizarre mission seemed strangely… inadequate. The cavern widened, revealing the black pit, but the sounds of the children, which had been growing ever louder, suddenly ceased. Raven instinctively moved backwards, back into the hallway they had came from, but felt a strong force stopping her. "The exit's blocked," she said to the others, realizing moments before they did that this was a trap.

The pool of black matter began to change shape, and Summer, Qrow, and Raven readied their weapons. "Last time we were here, an Ursa came out of that," Qrow told Summer.

The black matter oozed into a tall shape, then fell away to reveal a woman. She was pale, with red eyes and white hair. Raven was certain this was the White Witch. She looked positively evil, and Raven shivered as the woman looked in her direction. Summer nocked an arrow, but held it in place, waiting to hear this woman's intentions.

Qrow was not so hesitant and leapt forward, swinging at Salem with a wide stroke of his scythe. Salem moved her hand a bit and Qrow flew back towards the cavern wall, hard. She laughed humorlessly as she stepped out of the tar pit with grace.

"At last we meet." Salem's voice was smooth but her tone was harsh.

"To what do we owe an in-person visit?" asked Qrow, still slumped against the wall.

"I always am curious about Ozpin's favorites," she said. "And I also like to keep an eye on the bloodlines of old."

Summer's hand quivered as she kept the arrow trained on the witch. "There's no children," Summer said, more of a statement than a question.

"Correct. And Malone and Hart were phenomenal actors, I'm sure. Maybe I'll spare them." She began to walk forward, unphased by Summer and Qrow's weapons.

"You bitch." Qrow rose and charged again, this time his weapon was in sword form. Salem looked at him more carefully now, and threw what looked to be a ball of red light directly at him. He slumped over on the cave floor, now motionless.

"Qrow!" called Raven, realizing only as she yelled and ran to her twin that she had been frozen motionless for the entire encounter. Summer shot at Salem, but the arrow seemed to pass right through her.

"You're an illusion," said Summer, though she didn't sound certain. "Why lure us here anyways?"

"I'm not so dense as to reveal my intentions. Be honored you even piqued my interest," sneered the witch.

Qrow had a pulse, Raven was certain, but he looked gray and cold and unwell. She knew they needed a way to escape. "Open a portal!" called Summer. "Bring us to Tai!"

Raven nodded, but even so, she did not open the portal. She rested Qrow's head on her legs as she kneeled beside him, sword at the ready. Qrow had a head wound from when he had been thrown against the wall, and she could feel his blood soaking her legs. An intense fear paralyzed her at the threat of her brother's life.

"Open it!" called Summer, sending more arrows as Salem moved forward.

Raven did not answer her, thinking suddenly of Ironwood diving through her portal at the tournament. "I won't," she said finally.

"Raven, you have to!"

"No." Somehow Raven knew that opening the portal would let Salem out. She wasn't sure how she knew this, but a gleam in the witch's eye made her realize Salem wanted the portal to open. That was likely the entire reason they were there. If Raven dying in this cavern meant that Salem would be trapped wherever she was, so be it.

Salem moved in towards Summer. Raven forced herself to keep watching, as much as she didn't want to watch this clash. The witch held out a bony white hand and thrust it at Summer. Suddenly, there was a bright flash of light and Raven was temporarily blinded. She realized, somehow, that the light was coming from Summer and not Salem, and she could hear the witch yelling in pain. When the light finally ceased, the cavern was plunged in comparative darkness. It took a few moments for her eyes to adjust, but Raven saw Summer slumped motionless on the cavern floor, and Salem collapsed as well, cast back into the tar. "Summer!" she called desperately, but there was no reply. Raven stared at Qrow and Summer, who both appeared to be dead, and found herself unable to channel her aura to open a portal to Tai. She sat on the dirt floor in shock, tar oozing calmly a few feet away. She was the only conscious being in this dark cavern of evil.

Raven had no idea how long she sat there in shock before a green haze appeared in one corner of the cavern, and from it stepped Professor Ozpin and Professor Lionheart of Atlas. "Miss Branwen!" Ozpin called in alarm.

Raven tried to reply, but she couldn't think of the words, and she couldn't make her mouth move.

Ozpin and Lionheart checked on Summer and Qrow, and observed Salem's motionless form in the tar pit. "It seems that is just a convincing render," said Ozpin. "Salem is truly a great distance from here, which is both a blessing and a curse."

Raven felt herself trembling. She couldn't believe that that monster was only a false copy of the real thing. Perhaps they weren't in danger of letting her out. Perhaps if she'd opened the portal earlier…

"Miss Branwen," said Lionheart, breaking her reverie. "I am going to open a wormhole to the infirmary at Atlas Academy. Please go take your teammates through. Ozpin and I will stay behind and figure out what to do with this," he said, gesturing to the frozen Salem. A hazy rectangle appeared beside her.

Raven nodded and stood slowly, picking up Summer and hoisting her gently over her shoulder carried her through the portal. She could hear the surprised voices as she appeared in the infirmary, but she turned back to bring Qrow over as well.

"We will discuss this at a later time," said Ozpin. His voice faded as she walked into the wormhole for the second time. At the other side, Raven was met with a flurry of people who tended to Qrow and Summer immediately. She was ushered into a chair, and given something to drink, and asked dozens of questions. She tried to answer them as best as she could, but the truth was too many mysterious things had happened. She didn't know what had happened at all. She tried to follow Summer, and then Qrow as they were taken to private rooms, but the orderlies told her to return that evening, 'after everything had been stabilized'.

In a trance, Raven walked to the station and rode an airship to the stadium. The tournament had long since begun, so she road the ship alone. She walked into the contestants section, numb to the cold despite forgetting her cape. She wore only her short-sleeved shirt and combat skirt. She recognized Tai's face on the contestant's board, and realized after a long delay that she was watching him fight against Nirav, captain of Beacon's Team NAVY. The match was close, and the Beacon section of the stands was going wild.

Nirav's weapon was a katana, and he clashed with Tai's twin blades. Tai seemed to move faster than she could keep up with, darting here and there as he fought. The biomes were forgone in favor of a minimalist platform on which the contestants competed. Igness and Margarita were speaking, but their words did not process in Raven's mind.

She saw a flash of red, and realized it was Nirav's shoulder slashed open. Once again she could feel herself trembling, imagining a terrible accident and Tai injured or killed. Or even more frightening, that terrible White Witch appearing here among all these people. Tai lunged at Nirav, and the two of them grappled on the silver platform. Raven couldn't see any dropped weapons, so she reckoned all three blades were wrapped up somewhere in the tussle.

As she watched, she thought of going on raids with the tribe. Those nights had been invigorating; something to look forward to. Even though there was danger, it was exhilarating. This night, her current reality, was in another realm entirely. There was no festive air, nothing to gain here. She shook her head, clearing it, just in time to see Tai's chokehold succeed and Nirav's aura meter fall to 14%. The crowd erupted in cheers.

Confetti flew from cannons, and celebratory music began to play. The results were posted, and declared that Tai's 21 point aura differential was the highest of the four fights that evening, and Team STRQ had won the Vytal Festival Tournament. An entire section of the stands held up a banner that read "I Love You, Taiyang!" with hearts on each side. Without thinking, Raven made her way down to the combat platform to congratulate Tai.

He ran to greet her, lifting her off of her feet and kissing her deeply. Normally Raven would have hated such a public display of affection, but she was so worried about Summer and Qrow, overwhelmed at the evening she had, and proud of Tai she returned the gesture. Apparently Tai found it odd that she was so affectionate, because when he set her back on her feet, he looked her over properly. His eyes widened, and she could detect fear in his eyes as he noticed the blood staining her bare arms and legs.

Just then, Professor Ironwood whisked Tai away to place a medal around his neck and hand him a trophy. Beacon's anthem was sounded. A microphone was shoved in his face and he was asked questions, and perhaps someone asked where the rest of Team STRQ was on this occasion. The blood-stained teammate with the scary reputation was not noticed as Tai was lauded with cheers.

Tai got away as quickly as possible and returned to where Raven was waiting, among the reporters, students, and teachers who had flooded the combat area. "What happened?" he asked as soon as he got back. "Are you hurt?"

Once again, Raven felt unable to answer properly. She shook her head in response to his second question. Once ascertaining that she was uninjured, Tai took her hand and pulled her out of the stadium, and after collecting his things, they took an airship back to the Academy. As they walked to the stadium station, they passed hundreds of revelers, getting drunk, waiting for the fireworks show, and cheering when they spotted Tai.

"Where's Qrow and Summer?" he asked her as they walked. He greeted the revelers quickly as they passed.

"They're in the infirmary," she managed to say. "S- Salem. It was a trap."

They shared the ship with a few others leaving the tournament early, but they tucked into the last row of seats and spoke quietly. Tai put his arm around Raven's shoulders and pulled her close to him. She could feel his warmth and it was then that she realized how intensely cold she was. Her bones felt frozen.

"Tell me what happened, as much as you can," said Tai. Raven was amazed at his patience, and ashamed of her own inability to communicate effectively.

"This afternoon, on the way to the tournament, we were stopped by Professor Hart and Leaf Malone," she began. She told him of 'Ozpin's' message, of the trip into the woods, of the sounds of crying children, and the encounter with Salem. She told him how she refused to open the portal, including her doubts about whether or not she should. Now that she had begun to talk, she couldn't stop.

"How did Ozpin and Professor Lionheart know to find you there?" he asked.

"Oh, I forgot. Summer insisted we send Ozpin a coded message before we went into the cave. It didn't specify our exact location, so it was either a good guess or he tried a few places before finding us."

The airship tilted towards the ground. They were arriving back at the Academy. "Hey um, you did great in that fight. I'm proud of you," Raven said, blushing.

"Thanks," said Tai, holding her hand as they disembarked. "Now let's get cleaned up and changed and head to the infirmary. And maybe stop for food on the way before I pass out."

Raven knew that Tai's light tone was for her benefit, and he was just as frightened as she was. His partner had just revealed a strange 'power' and was now in an unstable condition. Raven realized that this is probably the same way her teammates felt after she was attacked by the King Taijitu. She quickly showered and changed, and walked down to the dining hall with Tai.

Immediately, they were swarmed by students. Most people were still at the tournament, but some had returned, and were thrilled to meet the newest champion. Tai was polite and took a few photos, but told them he was late to meet up with the rest of their team. He and Raven took to-go plates and walked across campus to the infirmary. Though the rooms had a warm, welcoming feel to them, they still felt aseptic and smelled off-putting. At least this small infirmary did not have an entire floor of Grimm trauma victims, she thought.

The beds were divided with curtains. They passed three students who had been injured in the tournament, and then saw Summer, and Ozpin sitting at her side. Raven walked further down and saw Qrow, with Lionheart sitting beside him. Just the sight of her teammates breathing instantly made some of Raven's tension disappear.

Ozpin stood to address Tai and Raven, his voice quiet in consideration of the patients. "The doctor informed us that Qrow's wounds will heal with time as his aura regenerates. He was hit with an aura-depleting energy, but his life is not in danger."

"And Summer?" asked Tai. He was squeezing Raven's hand, and she could feel his anxiety.

"Miss Rose seems to have awoken the power of her Silver Eyes," Ozpin said. "It is an ancient power from a lineage of warriors. She seems to have overexerted herself quite a bit, but she also will recover."

Tai sighed in relief and sat in the chair opposite Ozpin's, beside Summer's bed.

"Congratulations on winning the tournament, Mr. Xiao Long." Lionheart had stood to join them.

"Thank you, sir."

Raven sat beside her brother, reliving the witch attacking him over and over. After at least an hour, Professor Lionheart rejoined her at the bedside. He handed her a hot chocolate, which she accepted, realizing only then that she never touched the dinner she brought. She liked the jovial Mistrali Huntsman, who she had met a few times throughout the tournament. He wore his hair long, and his clothing reminded her of the styles in Anima.

"So now you can count yourselves amongst the very, very few who've met the secret antagonist of Remnant and lived to tell about it."

"Have you?" she asked.

He shook his head. "That was the first time I'd ever laid eyes on her. And trust me, as much faith as I have in Oz and the others, I didn't entirely believe she existed until this evening." He sat in the chair on the other side of the bed.

"I wish to never see her again," Raven said, sipping the cocoa. "Everything I've seen in the past, every horror I've endured, it all pales in comparison. I regret that she knows my face."

"I understand. And yet, I fear this battle is only beginning."

A/N: Yay, I reached about the midpoint in the story! I know I'm kind of inconsistent with updating, but it's coming along slowly. Please leave me any feedback or suggestions you think of :D


	26. Chapter 26

And with this dusk, another day passes  
Another day, within another year **  
**Come home now, oh, my captain  
Return at last to familiar shores.

-Mistrali folk song

Chapter 26: A Homecoming

Summer woke to a quiet room. Distantly, she could hear a radio playing some classic song, and footsteps approaching. She sat up, feeling stiff but not unwell. She remembered being in the cavern, but it looked like somehow, they had managed to escape and get back to Atlas Academy.

The footsteps turned out to be Taiyang, who nearly dropped his coffee as he spotted Summer. "You're awake!" he said, rushing over to give her a hug. "I was so worried!"

"What? Why?" Summer wondered if she had an injury she was unaware of.

"You've been out for 3 days!"

Summer sat up more fully. "Three days?!" She looked around for something to orient herself with. The breakfast tray beside her had blueberry pancakes, only served on Tuesday. It was true. sAfter wobbling on unsteady legs to the bathroom, she dug into the tray. Tai sat beside her, sipping his coffee.

"Qrow and Raven will be by after they finish sparring. Even after the tournament, they're combat-crazy."

"The tournament!" Summer shouted, nearly spilling her juice. How could she have forgotten? "How did it turn out?!"

Tai handed her the sunday edition of the school's newspaper. The headline read: _Team STRQ: The Coolest Team to Come Out of Beacon?_ , an almost-verbatim imitation of Qrow's famous catchphrase. The photo underneath showed Tai standing on the winner's podium, accepting a trophy for winning the tournament.

"Wow, you won! I'm so proud, well done!" Summer flipped open the paper to read the article. Below the columns of text were two more photos: a picture of Tai grappling with Nirav of Team NAVY, and a picture of Tai kissing Raven. "Raven was there?" asked Summer. Her memory of the night was hazy. "Oh my gosh! Qrow! Is Qrow alright?"

Tai laughed. "I already told you, he's sparring with Raven. He had a good hit to the head, and his aura was totally drained, but he bounced back. As for Raven, she came to watch after dropping you two off here." He went on to explain what Raven had told him about Ozpin and Lionheart saving them from the cavern, and tried to explain what Ozpin had said about her silver eyes attack.

Summer was confused, but somehow felt at peace. "That must have been what those visions were about," she said. "My father died when I was young, so I don't know much about him, but I know he had silver eyes."

"Well you'll have to work on that attack, Missy. It might take out a witch, but if it puts you out for three days, it's not really worth it."

"I think she managed to get an attack in first, so that might have been what kept me out. Either way, I have no idea how to control it. I was just panicking."

Tai nodded. "Raven was freaking out that night. She came to the tournament, Qrow's blood all over her, she couldn't even speak."

"That woman was truly awful, Tai."

"Well, it's over now," he said. Summer doubted this was true, and in fact she felt that this was likely just the beginning, but she did not say so. She wanted to believe Tai, and even if she couldn't fully believe him, she could just for today.

"Say, we should do something to celebrate today!" she proposed.

"It's true we don't have class," said Tai, "But it's the dedicated study week before finals. Besides, shouldn't you rest?"

Summer shook her head. "I've been resting for three days, I need to _move._ Let's call the nurse and have her let me out. As for studying, we will begin our intensive regime tomorrow morning!"

The nurse poked and prodded at Summer for quite some time, and then she called the doctor who did the same. Finally, they decided they had no reason to keep her and she was freed. By this time, Qrow and Raven had joined them, both visibly relieved to see her up and about.

They went back to the room to change, and Summer took a much-needed shower, and she called her parents. Apparently they had called the dormitory several times, worried that they couldn't get ahold of their daughter. They were thrilled to hear about the tournament, and very worried about the silver eyes. Summer's mother promised to speak to her father's family about the ability.

"Now, what should we do on our last day of freedom before studying hell?" asked Tai. He was balancing on his skateboard in the middle of the dormroom, and generally upsetting Cinna, who was hiding under Raven's pillow. Summer couldn't blame Tai, though: there was nowhere to skate in this arctic tundra.

"Well, what do people here do for fun?" asked Raven. "It's kinda… lame here."

"Tricia said Team MINT was going to a ski resort today," Qrow said. "We could go too."

Between the allure of skiing, snowboarding, hot cocoa, fires at the lodge, and shopping in the village, everyone agreed to go. They dressed warmly, and arrived at the station just before noon. Not only did they see Team MINT, but Team JNPR was also there. "Hey, great job dominating Nirav," said Morgana, patting Tai on the back.

"Who'd have thought that the guy who couldn't pick up his weapon would win the tournament?" teased Sabrina. Her wavy blonde hair was tucked into an Ursa-themed snow hat, and Mina wore a matching one. All four members of Team JSMN were carrying their own skis.

"I was drunk!" Tai defended himself. The teasing continued through the short ride to the resort. As they rode, Summer stared out the window. She was relieved the tournament was over, and relieved they'd escaped Salem's trap, but she was worried about future encounters, and about what her silver eyes meant. She'd never known much about her father, and while she knew she'd inherited his eye color, she didn't know it came with abilities. At least they were going back to Vale once finals were over. They'd be starting their final year at Beacon.

The Atlas Palace Ski Resort did resemble a palace made of glittering ice. Tall, snow, covered cliffs surrounded it in three directions. Signs pointed visitors to ski rentals, a hot tub, shopping, and food. Each of them bought a lift pass at a discounted rate by showing their Academy ID cards. Qrow left with Tricia and Morgana to find some alcohol, and Tai, Raven, and Summer rented skis and rode to the top of the smallest mountain. At the summit, it no longer looked small.

"Has anyone done this before?" Summer asked with a giggle.

"I grew up in the desert, girl," joked Tai.

Raven shook her head.

"Ok, me either. I read that you're supposed to curve your way down in an 'S' shape," she said. They shuffled to the closest trail. Tai went first, and he was a little wobbly but remained upright. "It's kind of like skateboarding!" he called back. "But I have no idea how to stop!" He disappeared further down the mountain.

"Ready?" Raven asked Summer, pushing herself forward. Summer followed. The two girls were terrible at skiing, but both were stubborn when they weren't good at something, so they slowly made their way down the mountain, falling and cursing all the while. At one point, all of Team JSMN went whizzing by, and they swore they saw Tai making his second run as well. When they finally got to the bottom, Summer was sore and tired and more than a little hungry.

"Let's take a break before round two?" Summer proposed.

They locked up their skis and walked into the palace, which had glittering crystal chandeliers and fancy marble floors. They found a small cafe and sat down, ordering cocoa and cookies. "This is my kind of ski trip," joked Summer, gobbling up the treats.

"This is nice," Raven agreed. "We better find Qrow after this, just to be sure there's someone worse at this than us."

Raven reached her pale hand towards Summer and wiped a cookie crumb from her sweater, and Summer suddenly saw Salem's white, evil hand reaching towards her. "Eh- are you alright?" asked Raven. "You made a weird face all of the sudden."

"I'm alright, I was just thinking of that cave and that woman," said Summer, quietly.

Now Raven looked downcast, sipping at her drink. "I'm sorry," she said, almost inaudibly. "I'm really, really sorry."

Summer looked at Raven more closely. Her teammate looked extremely torn up, as if she had been carrying this guilt heavily for the past days.

"I should have done _something,_ " she continued. "I just was frozen, and I was stubborn and I wouldn't open the portal. And even so, I could have used my sword, but I just sat there…"

"It's ok," said Summer, cutting her off. "I don't blame you for anything, but if it makes you feel better, then I forgive you. I'm sorry, too. If your judgement was that opening the portal was unsafe, then I shouldn't have pressured you to do so. I'm sorry for yelling."

"I was certain that I shouldn't open it… that that was exactly what she wanted, but now I'm doubting myself. I'm not sure what the right thing to do was, and I'm all hung up on it."

"Well, let's not think about it, just for today, and after we decompress, we can talk about it more. I'm glad we were able to clear the air, though."

They had planned to go back to the slopes, but were waylayed by the allure of the hottub, and then they stopped into a couple shops because Summer saw a book she had wanted, and Raven saw a rabbit keychain she liked. "Buy it, I won't tell anyone and ruin your image!" Summer joked.

They found the boys at the bottom of the lift, and tried skiing a few more times with slightly better results. Then, Raven began playing with her portals and they would ski through them and shoot out at high speeds further down the mountain. Tai got in on the fun and increased and decreased the gravity, making them move faster and slower. At one point, Tricia used her semblance to summon Team STRQ from the top of the mountain to where she was at the bottom, and they shot down with no effort at all. Qrow flew down the snowy mountain as a crow, but Raven refrained.

Exhausted and starving, they returned their rentals and made the trip home, the twelve of them immediately walking to the dining room. "Good evening," said someone from ahead, and Summer peaked over those ahead of her to see Professor Ironwood, headmaster of Atlas Academy. He'd presided over several of the Festival events, but Summer had yet to encounter him personally.

"Hello, father," said James, not meekly but not overly affectionate, either.

"I see you all are enjoying the dedicated studying week."

All three teams looked slightly abashed that they had used a school day to go on a ski trip, especially after the days off for the tournament. "Now I'm all charged up and ready to study for the rest of the week," said Sabrina cheerfully.

"We won't disappoint you," added Norbert.

"I am glad to hear it. Enjoy your meal. Good night, everyone."

"Oi, Jimmy, your dad's a bit severe," whispered Qrow.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me Jimmy?!" Ironwood shouted. "But yeah, he's pretty intense. He's always been like that, though. I'm trying to get our team a mission in Vale next year to take a little break from him."

"Oh, great, we're not done with you!" Qrow teased.

"Come on, you guys, let's eat," said Inez, pushing through the bantering boys. "I'm famished."

Summer ate heartily, enjoying beef stew, freshly-baked bread, and pumpkin pie. She truly did feel refreshed, and ready to buckle down for finals.

The rest of the week, they kept their word and studied intensively. Summer was glad she could remain at Atlas until the end of the semester, since moving back and taking exams written by different professors than those who had taught the material was too stressful to think about.

The finals results were about what Summer would expect. She did very well in lecture-based classes, and above average in practicums. Raven was the opposite. The boys both managed to pass all their exams, and did well in their practicums. Soon, it was time to pack up their dorm room and move back to Beacon. They said goodbye to all the friends they had made, and Summer stopped by her favorite professors offices as well.

The ride home was bittersweet, but Summer was pleased to see the landscape gradually grow less snowy and more green. When Team STRQ got off at Beacon station, they were surprised to see a large crowd of Beacon townspeople and Academy students there, waiting for their arrival. They cheered and threw confetti and took pictures of Team STRQ, winners of the Vytal Festival Tournament.

As Summer took her time greeting the people who took the time to come out, she noticed a familiar face in the crowd. Emilia, her little sister was beaming at her with Sweet Pea, her constant companion, in her arms. Emilia ran to Summer, hugging her big sister, and Summer scooped her up into her arms. "You're here!" Summer cheered. She hadn't realized how much she missed her baby sister until she saw her. Emilia hugged Summer back. "We watched you and Tai and Raven and Qrow win all the fights!" she said. "Mom and dad are by the fountain."

Summer carried Emilia and the cat back to the fountain, where she was embraced by her mother and step-father. "We were so worried when we heard you were in the infirmary, and so proud about the tournament, we had to come."

"Congratulations, kid," Dean said, clapping his hand on her shoulder. "I've been bragging about you to all the guys at work."

"He has," her mother gushed. "You should hear him talk about you, Summer."

"Mr. and Mrs. Powell, great to see you!" said Tai, running up to hug Summer's parents. Qrow and Raven said hello as well.

Emilia wiggled out of Summer's arms and pulled on Raven's skirt. "I want to see your bunny," she said shyly.

Summer wasn't sure what to expect, but Raven took the little girls hand, and crouched down to her level. She pulled out Cinna from her carrier. "White!" squealed Emilia, in awe.

"I'm glad you're all here," said Dean. "We wanted to invite you to stay with us, for at least a week, really as long as you can spare, this summer."

Summer looked to her teammates. Tai was already shaking Dean's hand, accepting the offer, and even the twins looked excited to return to Hollyhock House.

"Why don't you all get rested and organized tonight," proposed Karen, "and travel home with us tomorrow? We will be staying in an inn downtown tonight."

Plans set, Team STRQ lugged their trunks back to Beacon Academy. Team STRQ's faces were on a huge banner that hung from the clock tower. _Vytal Festival Champions: Team STRQ_ , it read. "How embarrassing," moaned Raven upon seeing it.

"I think it's pretty cool," said Tai, squeezing her hand. "Come on, there's loads of people I want to see before they head home for the summer!"

Early the next afternoon, Team STRQ carried much lighter luggage to the station once again, this time to return to Lysander on the island of Killian. Summer had spent the night sorting through some things in her mind, and she was relieved that she had settled on a plan of action. When she met her parents at the station, she decided to tell them her plans right away. Qrow, Raven, and Taiyang stood behind her.

"Mom, dad, while I'm home, I'm planning to spend a few days visiting dad's old village, and talking to some of his family. I hope that doesn't upset you."

Summer wasn't sure what kind of reaction she was going to get, but she was relieved when both her mother and step-father smiled in understanding. "Certainly, honey," said Dean.

"Your grandmother has been asking to see you," said Summer's mom.

Summer sat on the airship quietly, steeling herself for the next adventure. Emilia and Raven sat together,


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27: A Visit

Taiyang dove, feeling the grains of sand scraping against his bare chest. It felt like being home in Vacuo, with the added benefit of being close to the sea. He just barely managed to get his hands under the ball, pushing it back upwards. Summer set it for him, and Tai stood quickly to jump and spike it over the net. Raven ran forward to keep the ball in play, but tripped over nothing, falling into the sand. She gave her brother an annoyed look.

"Sorry!" said Qrow, sheepishly. "This is why I'm no good at team sports."

"Maybe you two are just bad at beach volleyball!" said Tai, mostly because he knew it would annoy the twins. Raven stood and dusted herself off, shifting her glare to Tai. "Oh my, grumpy murder twins!" he taunted, taking off running to escape their impending attack.

He dove into the sea, which was refreshingly cool against the surprisingly warm day. Killian was the northernmost island above Vale, but it definitely didn't have the same snowy atmosphere as Atlas in the summer. True to expectations, Raven and Qrow donned normal clothes and hated being in the sun for too long. Even now, Raven moved back under the umbrella rather than pursue Tai into the water. Summer wore a bikini, and Tai had to admit she looked pretty cute, and she was an excellent beach volleyball player, despite her size.

They spent most of the first few days like that, exploring the beach or the surrounding areas, climbing mountains and trees, playing volleyball or sparring, and eating delicious food each morning and evening. Tai was happy to indulge every whim the other three could think of, especially since it seemed to ease the trauma they had experienced at the hands of Salem.

After they finished the game of volleyball, it was time to head home for dinner. "Go ahead," said Raven, to Tai and Summer. "I need to talk to Qrow about something. We'll be a few minutes behind you."

Tai and Summer left first, walking in comfortable silence for a ways. "What do you think that's about?" Tai asked, once they were a safe distance from the beach. Summer threw and caught the volleyball as she walked, while Tai tooled around on his skateboard.

"No idea," said Summer. "Family stuff, maybe?"

That had been Tai's thought as well, though he still didn't know much about the twin's family except that they had been raised in the Erres'l tribe. "It's strange that they never go home on breaks," Tai said.

"I was reading a little about that tribe," Summer said. "It's nomadic, so maybe Raven and Qrow wouldn't know where to go home to? And it can't be easy to get to. I mean, it's probably very far from a station."

"They're birds, Summer, they can fly!"

Summer looked at him with a less intense version of the hurt expression she showed when he was upset about finding out they were from a thieving tribe. "Maybe they don't want to go home," she said. "Maybe their home isn't a nice place," she added, more quietly. "And you should know, Raven _hates_ transforming into a bird."

Tai sighed. "Yeah, I know, and I'm sorry, I just get really curious, and she's so private."

"She talked to me about it before. Just ask, maybe she'll open up to you, too."

"Are you sure that wasn't just because you two are 'secret lovers of Team STRQ?'" asked Tai, referencing the Atlas student newspaper article about Raven and Summer's alleged romantic relationship.

Summer giggled, likely remembering the silly photograph that accompanied the article. "Hey," she said, more serious now. "Are you sure you want to come with me tomorrow?"

Tai nodded. "Are you serious, Sum? You're our team leader. We'd follow you anywhere, and support you with anything."

Summer smiled, squeezing Tai's arm affectionately. "That's all I needed to hear. Thank you!"

That night, after everyone had gone to bed for the night, Tai got up to use the bathroom and returned to Raven's room, instead of his own. Half asleep, she accepted his presence without much fuss. Tai had meant to talk to her, but she was sleeping so comfortably he just fell asleep beside her.

He woke to her tossing and turning. It appeared she was having an unpleasant dream. "Hey, Raven," he said quietly, grabbing her hand. "Wake up."

She did as commanded, and he caught a glimpse of pure terror in her eyes right as she opened them. This expression was quickly covered by Raven's default cool and expressionless visage.

"Bad dream?" he asked, handing her a glass of water that had been on the bedside table. She nodded. "Salem?"

"No." She handed the glass back and lay back again, her wild hair splayed over the pillow. "This was an older dream, from when I was a kid."

"What happens?" he asked.

"When we joined the tribe, even as kids, we had jobs," she began. "Qrow had to feed the chickens and collect eggs, and I took care of the rabbits." She paused. "You know what, neverm-"

"Tell me." Tai pressed, kissing her neck gently.

"Well, one night, there were some Grimm near where we had set up camp. These Huntsmen were in the area and they slayed them, and then they came to us demanding payment for keeping us safe."

"But… that's-"

"Illegal, yeah. But it happens a lot in Anima. Anyways, our leader turned them down, denying their demands, and sent them away. The three of them came back in the dead of night, lighting our tents on fire, killing our livestock and even some people. They killed all my rabbits. And they killed one of my friends, Anje. She was only twelve. Obviously, our elders killed these rogue Huntsmen, but the damage was done."

"Wow. I'm sorry, Rae. I can't believe you still came to Beacon after that."

"Well, not all Huntsmen are corrupt, I know that. I just want to be able to defend myself against any threat that comes my way." She looked at him, barely meeting his eyes in the dark room. "That's why that witch freaks me out so much. I don't think there's anything I can do to be safe from her."

"Tell me more about your tribe," said Tai, both because he was curious and because he wanted to redirect her thoughts.

"I will, another time," she said. "But now it's time for sleep. We're meeting a different tribe tomorrow."

Summer's father was from a tribe on the north side of Killian Island called the Ipsilon. Summer's mother explained is was less of a tribe and more of a clan- several families that live together and support each other and share a distinct culture. The four members of Team STRQ set off early, taking the train as far north as it would go. The hike across the northern part of the island beyond the train's reaches took three hours. They brought enough supplies for two nights, though they only planned to stay for one. Summer's mother packed them plenty of food, and Emilia made them all paper trinkets for good luck.

They got lost only once, and arrived at the Ipsilon Village around 2 pm. There were women in the village square, sweeping it out and decorating it with flowers. Men were erecting some sort of pavilion. "Um, excuse me," said Summer to a man near the town gate. "I am looking for the family of River Rose."

"And what business do you have with the Rose's?" asked the man. He peered over the gate. He was very tall and looked rather imposing, with handmade leather clothes and a large sword at his side.

"Um… I am River's daughter, Summer Rose. I am a Huntress in training. With me are my teammates from Beacon Academy."

The man opened the gate and stepped out, taking a close look at Summer. "Silver eyes! Oh, I see! Come in, then. You've come on the day of the the Armistice, the Great War ended fifty-five years ago today! There will be a great celebration. We are just north of the Island of Vytal where peace was forged, after all."

They followed the man into the plaza, drawing the attention of everyone who was out preparing for the Armistice celebration. "Everyone, this is Summer Rose, River's daughter, and her friends from Beacon Academy. They have come to join us tonight." He turned back to the four of them. "By the way, my name is Cliff Seawind. I am the leader of the Ipsilon clan."

Tai, Raven, and Qrow introduced themselves, and they were taken to the town tavern, where they were served beer and they unpacked their lunches. "It's alright here," joked Qrow, sipping his large mug of beer.

"Where is she? Where is my Summer?" asked an old lady, dashing into the tavern. The woman had long, gray hair, and large, silver eyes filled with cataracts. She wore dozens of beaded necklaces that seemed to make her stoop forward from their weight.

"I am Summer," Summer told her, standing.

"Summer Rose! I am your grandmother, Heather. How wonderful it is to meet you!"

Heather sat down with them at the tavern's table, and ordered them all another round. "I never thought I would meet you," she said, after introductions were made. "When River left, he decided to leave behind the clan entirely- of course it was our fault, telling him it was the clan or Karen- and so I knew he had a daughter but he never let me meet my granddaughter. And of course, once he passed, I thought it would be rude to come see Karen and seek you out."

"It is great to finally meet you," said Summer. "I've never met anyone else with silver eyes. I don't really remember my father, I only know him from photographs."

"It's a shame your grandfather passed last year, he would have loved to meet you as well. In any case, I spoke to Karen last week and she told me you unlocked the power of your silver eyes."

Summer nodded. "That was what prompted me to come here, actually."

"Well dearie, though most of us in the clan have silver eyes, very few have unleashed their power, and so unfortunately we don't know a whole lot about it anymore. It is said that generations ago, the silver-eyed warriors could smite Grimm with a single glance."

"I see. Is there anyone here who has used the power?" asked Summer.

Heather nodded. "His name is Azure Wiregrass. He's a bit of an eccentric, but even so, he's a member of our clan. He'll be at the festivities tonight for certain. He always wears the ugliest green hat."

They all laughed, and spent more time getting tipsy and talking with Heather. She wanted to know all about Summer, and about the others as well, and what life was like in Beacon and Atlas. Finally, the sun began to set. "You all get settled in at the inn, it's down two buildings. Rest up and come down to the square tonight for the party. There you'll meet Azure."

They checked in at a rustic inn and were shown to their rooms. Raven shared with Summer, and Tai and Qrow took the room beside them. Everything from the bed linens to the chairs to the building itself was obviously homemade.

"Is this at all like your tribe?" Tai asked Qrow, hoping he didn't sound ignorant.

Qrow looked at him with a strange expression. "Sorry," he laughed. "It's just you never ask me serious questions." Qrow began to change out of his sweaty travelling clothes and into more casual clothes for the party. Tai did the same. "Not really. I mean we made a lot of our own stuff, too, but we were nomadic, so our buildings were just tents. And we definitely have tighter security at the gates. And we definitely did not celebrate Armistice Day."

"What do you mean?"

"The Great War started and ended within the Kingdoms. Things like declarations of war, armistices, and treaties- they don't mean anything out in the rest of Anima beyond Mistral."

"Wow, I never even thought about that. You're surprisingly knowledgeable."

"Shut it." Qrow pulled out his ever-present flask and took a swig. "Let's party!"

The girls joined them and they went down into the village square to join the festivities. The plaza was lit up with candles and bonfires, and there was live music from a five-piece band. Children and adults were shooting off fireworks, and there was a bar and several long tables of food. There was a dance floor on which some of the villagers were performing a complicated dance. Children swung at Grimm-shaped pinatas and there was a parade winding its way through the village, with old veterans from the Great War, horses, and other features of the village.

Tai and Qrow got some hard cider from the bar and ate Ipsilon delicacies such as snails from the northern seashore, kiki fruit salsa, and a dark blue bread. Summer took a handful of cookies from a tray and wandered through the crowd, searching for a man in a green hat. Tai was now very drunk and leaned on Raven as she sipped a sparkling wine. "You look pretty in that dress," he told her.

"Thanks, drunk boy," she replied.

"Everyone, meet Azure!" said Summer, pulling a shy looking man towards them. He was in fact wearing a hideous green hat, but otherwise looked fairly normal. He had silver eyes and hair, and dressed like a farmer. He looked to be about thirty.

"Hello, everyone," he said shyly. "I heard you all won the Vytal Festival Tournament, congrats."

"Thank you very much. Listen, Azure, Heather Rose told me to talk to you, since you managed to unlock the power of the silver eyes," said Summer.

"It's true, though I don't really know what to say. Once I made it happen accidentally, when I was mad at my sister, and I accidentally destroyed her favorite outfit that time. After that, whenever I feel a strong emotion, I can feel power welling up inside of me, and I can choose to let it out through my eyes. The problem is, I'm not a warrior, and I haven't unlocked my aura, so the attack isn't very powerful."

"Lucky for your sister," Tai joked. Qrow laughed.

"That's exactly what I wanted to know, thank you," said Summer. "Is there anything else about the power you can tell me?"

"Well-"

A bell clanged loudly, interrupting Azure's sentence. A teen boy came tearing through the square, ringing it. "Wendigos!" he yelled, "Three of them! Wendigos!"

Immediately, the atmosphere changed. Parents rushed children back to their homes. Heather rushed over to them. "Listen, I know it's a lot to ask, but there's not many warriors in the clan. Do you think you could-"

"We've got it!" assured Summer. She took off for the inn to retrieve her weapon, the others in tow.

"What's a Wendigo?" asked Tai, rushing behind the others.

"It's a Grimm native to this island," said Summer. "They're enormous, tall and thin, on two legs. They've got long claws and massive antlers. I've never seen one for real before."

Team STRQ ran to the village gates, which were thick, but definitely too short to keep out much more than a Boarbatusk. Tai could see the antlered heads of the Wendigos approaching through the forests. There were five men and three women from the village gathered at the gate when they arrived. Cliff Seawind was there, and took command. "We'll split up four per one Wendigo. Myself, Snow, Poppy, and Forest will take the middle, Team STRQ, take the one on the right. Willow, Rain, Lark, and Flint, take the one to the left who's back a ways. Watch each others' backs!"

Team STRQ left the gates, moving towards the forest to minimize the damage to the village. The night was terribly dark, and Tai could only see his teammates faint silhouettes and the gleam of Dust in their weapons. He shook his head to clear it, though after all the alcohol it only served to make him more dizzy. He equipped his weapons.

The Wendigo broke through the trees and it was truly a terrible sight to behold. It was taller than the forest's trees, but gaunt, with shiny white ribs overlaying it's slimy black body. Its arms were so long they dragged on the ground, but they were also fast, darting forward to strike at Qrow, who dodged the hit deftly despite his drunkenness.

"Move out!" Summer called. "I'll take the rear and cover you. Tai, Raven, take the wings, Qrow, you've got point!"

"Sweet, I've been promoted!" teased Qrow as he ran at the beast, swiping his scythe across it's Achilles tendons. The Wendigo did not seem to appreciate this, and swung its arms wildly as it searched for the aggressor.

Raven moved in then, leaping up to swipe just below the giant's kneecaps, and just barely falling away before a swatting arm crushed her. Tai realized it was his turn to strike. Using his semblance, he focused on the Wendigo's arms until they were so laden with the weighty pull of gravity that the beast was dragging them along the dirt, causing deep rivets. Summer managed to land a few arrows in the thing's head, and the tips exploded a few seconds later. They had been imbibed with ice dust, and the Wendigo now sprouted ice formations from its skull. Tai leaped up and swiped at the creature's shoulders. He managed to nearly cut off one arm, and pierced more shallowly on the other.

He continued his semblance as Raven and Qrow took more strikes, and Summer's arrow onslaught continued. He could feel his semblance draining him, as it always did when he tried to manipulate large areas for long periods of time. "I have to release its arms!" he called, warning the others.

As soon as the semblance wore off, the Wendigo's right arm reached out again, but the left arm was still, dangling by a couple stringy black tendons. "Gross," said Qrow.

The large beast was moving haggardly now, fatigued by the onslaught of attacks. Tai looked back to check on Summer, when suddenly he felt Raven's portal behind him. She dived out, tackling Tai to the ground as Qrow ran forward and used his sword to parry the strike the Wendigo was making for Tai. Without a doubt, the twins saved his life.

Looking up from the dirt, he saw Summer running towards them. Raven's weight shifted off of him as she returned to the fighting, and Tai watched Summer zip right past him and into the heat of the battle. She held a small dagger as her only weapon, but her eyes glowed silver, and soon emitted a bright light that lit up the black forest. The Wendigo backed away, but the twins continued their onslaught. The creature lifted its good arm to block the silver light, but Tai could see the creature was stiffening. It fell to its knees.

Summer's eyes returned to normal and she fell to the ground, exhausted, but still conscious. Tai ran forward at the Wendigo, now appearing to be a statue of itself, and slammed his blades into the creature's skull. It cracked open, releasing gooey black Grimm matter, before the Wendigo itself dissolved into Dust.

"Oh shit," said Tai. The twins laughed darkly.


	28. Chapter 28

A/N: The Wendigo in the last chapter is a Grimm based on a creature from Algonquin folklore. Google it, it's pretty creepy! Also, hi, I may be updating this story more regularly again :)

Chapter 28: A Relief

Qrow laid back on the porch swing at Taiyang's parents' house, enjoying the warm summer breeze and the fact that there was no homework to worry about. Well, warm summer breeze was a bit of an understatement in the dry desert of Vacuo. And Qrow couldn't remember having any summer homework, but there very well might have been some. Summer sat in a chair a little ways down, reading some kind of Dust catalogue. Tai and Raven were in the back sparring, or maybe they were upstairs enjoying each other's company in private. Blech.

After hearing about the team's stay with Summer's parents, Tai's family insisted the team stay with them for the final week before term resumed. They would be fourth years. Qrow spared a moment to imagine Team STRQ spending a week with the tribe, and the thought was so bizarre he laughed aloud.

He pulled out the scroll. He thought about messaging Tricia, but the last time they had talked she had confessed to him her relationship with Morgana was growing more intimate, and he didn't really want to interrupt or be a third wheel. He thought about reaching out to some of his other friends at Beacon, but he didn't know if they even had scrolls. The only one Team STRQ had was the one given by Ozpin, and shared among them, though Qrow usually held onto it. Qrow had a feeling scrolls would become more popular, but for right now, they were prohibitively expensive.

Qrow thought about messaging Ozpin, who had been uncharacteristically uncommunicative since the end of the tournament, but decided not to. It would just piss Raven off, and he didn't really feel like sneaking out to do extra scouting or whatever Ozpin had planned. And if he was truly honest, the encounter with Salem was truly frightening, and Qrow wished to lay low for the time being.

"Hey! This editorial is about Wendigos!" said Summer.

"Yeah? Does it say they're tremendous pains-in-the-ass?"

She laughed. "No, but it does say that they're unique in that their antlers don't fade into Grimm matter. Some Huntsmen slay them and take home the antlers as a trophy."

"Damn, you could have brought your parents a gift."

"The author goes on to say that they have a special call that's below our hearing level that they use to summon other Grimm. He knows some wild facts."

"It's a good thing they didn't call any more," Qrow replied. After they slayed the first Wendigo, they had to help finish off the other two. It had been exhausting.

"Oh my gosh! This was written by Grey's counterpart, Professor Merlot! He works at Beacon! I didn't take his section of Grimm Studies, but I know of him."

"You're such a nerd, Sum."

She stuck her tongue out in reply, and returned to the magazine. Qrow thought again of her silver-eyed attack. He'd been unconscious for the first demonstration, which only made the second time more impactful. Summer could practically slay Grimm with just her eyes.

"I think I'll see if Taiyang's mom needs any help with dinner." Summer dutifully went inside. It was then that the scroll buzzed.

 _Professor Ozpin: Qrow, how is your break? I received word that you and the others encountered Wendigos, and also that Summer used her Silver Eyes again._

 _Team STRQ: We didn't just encounter them, we slayed them. And you really have spies everywhere, don't you?_

 _Professor Ozpin: It's a good and bad habit of mine. He who controls the information, Mr. Branwen, controls the world. The eyes?_

 _Team STRQ: Summer used her eyes to freeze the Wendigo, and Tai finished it._

 _Professor Ozpin: Excellent. She has learned to control it, then._

 _Team STRQ: I don't really feel like being one of your spies, at least not regarding my teammates._

 _Professor Ozpin: Then by all means, pass the scroll to Summer._

 _Team STRQ: (◔_◔)_

 _Professor Ozpin: Eye-rolling is unbecoming! ...How did you type that?_

With a laugh, Qrow closed the scroll, and followed the delicious scent of dinner into the dining room.

"Raven, did you see that article in the Dust catalogue by Professor Merlot?" Summer asked this as they ate dinner with Tai's parents.

Raven shook her head. "I didn't look through that issue yet. Merlot is gone from Beacon, though. He left last semester."

"What? Everything changed while we were at the Vytal Festival!" Summer looked to earnestly surprised that Qrow had to laugh.

Taiyang's mother looked up at them. "Is that Dr. Jacques Merlot?" she asked. "I just read an article about him beginning a resort town in the south of Vale. Your father and I were thinking of visiting."

"That's not fair," complained Tai. "I want to quit Beacon and live in a resort."

"Don't even joke," threatened Tai's father. "You're one year from graduation."

Qrow quickly got the impression that Tai's family was different from Summer's. For one, he was an only child, and didn't have any pets, and lived in the middle of the desert. But more than that, his parents were not used to anyone from their area studying abroad, let alone becoming a Huntsman. They were cautious and curious about Tai's life all at once. Still, they had the same sort of tenderness and affection for their son that Summer's parents had for her, a feeling that made Qrow simultaneously embarrassed and lonely.

He glanced at Raven, who looked uncomfortable. Qrow got the impression (and was certain Raven felt it as well) that while Tai's parents took to Summer quickly, while they were a little more reticent about the twins, especially the one dating their son.

After dinner, the four of them took a walk through the village. Summer dragged Tai off to see a display of chocolates, and Raven fell into stride with Qrow. "You've been going out at night," she said. It wasn't in her usual accusatory tone, it was said as if she were making casual conversation. This unsettled Qrow more.

"I have. Gotta stretch my wings," he said quietly.

Raven didn't reply right away. Instead, she walked along with him silently for some time. "You took Tai with you," she said.

Qrow laughed. "We just went to the tavern-"

"-Lies!" Raven cut him off.

Qrow sighed. She was right, of course. "We went to investigate a rumor that Lionheart had heard. I guess-"

" _Don't._ Tell me. I don't want to hear it. The less I know, the better."

Qrow had to laugh at his twin's distinctly Raven-y way of dealing with things. _If you don't know something in the first place, they can't torture it out of you. They might even leave you alone if you keep your head down._ An ironic defensive strategy for someone normally so bold.

"Qrow, Raven! This bar serves wine slushies!" Summer called. "Let's go!"

Qrow had to admit that was he was craving was alcohol, something cold, and an end to this conversation with Raven. "Let's do it!" he agreed.

Raven excused herself, saying that she was feeling tired, and walked back towards Tai's parent's house.

"I'll come with you!" Tai offered, looking between her and Qrow and Summer.

"It's fine," she said, with a wave of her hand. "Get a slushie."

Tai looked at Qrow with a 'did I do something?' sort of expression on his face, but Qrow just shrugged. It was easier to just wait it out when Raven got in one of her moods.

Summer was slightly forlorn that Raven decided against staying to drink with them, but her mood recovered after the second wine slushie. "Qrow? Isn't the desert great?" she said, her voice a little too loud for the quiet bar. 'They've got places like this, fancy chocolate, Tai's home is here, and I'm not freezing my butt off!"

Qrow laughed a little at Summer's elaborate hand gestures. "True. But aren't comfy socks and pajamas and blankets and hot cocoa kind of your thing?"

Summer's eyes widened in shock, as if she had truly forgotten this. Qrow had to admit she looked cute when her inhibition was low. "That's also true. In that case, maybe Anima would be better? I heard it can get really cold there."

Tai set down his drink. "Yeah, Qrow, let's meet your family next on the Tour."

Qrow knew that Tai wasn't really taking a jab at him, but he couldn't help but feel annoyed. He took another sip of his drink to compose himself, then spoke. "It's not really in the cards," he said. "What with the nature of nomads, and they're not generally used to extending hospitality."

Summer and Tai were both quiet, likely imagining the tribe. "Besides," Qrow continued. "You already know my only family."

"Do you remember your parents?" asked Summer.

This piqued Qrow's interest, as that type of question would be avoided by Summer, had she been sober. She wasn't one to shy away from probing questions, but she preferred not to ask emotionally-charged questions when their answers didn't resolve anything.

"Only a little. I think we were about five when the slavers came through. My mom looked a bit like Raven, but her hair was lighter and not so wild. My dad sort of looked like me, I think, but he was shorter, and his drinking habit had given him a gut."

"You better watch out!" teased Tai. "That liquor could catch up to you."

"My mom liked gardening," Qrow continued, unsure of why he was sharing so much information. Perhaps it was because Raven wasn't there to give him side eye. "She would be out in the garden all day if she had the time. She was our village's tailor. My dad was the owner of a small restaurant."

Qrow sipped his drink again, enjoying Summer and Tai's rapt attention and the absence of his sister. Soon enough, though, Tai and Summer were discussing something else, and Qrow was left alone with his thoughts. Everyone always joked about Qrow's habit of _brooding,_ and now here he was, proving them right.

His thoughts on the tribe now, he allowed himself to relive those memories. The nomadic tribe had none of the modern conveniences of Kingdom life. Out there, he needed to boil water to drink it, to work for every meal, and to worry every winter about staying warm and having enough to eat. And there were no showers. Qrow remembered his first shower at Beacon with bliss. If there was ever a convincing argument not to return home, it was taking showers.

Qrow thought of his sister, who he was certain did not share his thoughts. City life made Raven anxious, and her plan had always been to return home after school. Her heart wasn't in creature comforts or being a Huntsman-for-Hire.

Soon enough they paid their tabs and began walking home. The desert air was chilly, despite being summer, and they shivered slightly as they stepped out into the night air. "Hey, so, Qrow," Tai said, somewhat awkwardly. His cheeks were flushed pink from drinking or embarrassment.

"Tai." Qrow answered him quietly. Summer giggled, apparently knowing already where this was going.

"I'm kind of glad Raven didn't come out tonight, because I wanted to discuss something with you."

"Uh-huh…" Qrow continued walking, a stride ahead of the other two. He could hear Summer whisper something to Tai.

"I wanted to tell you that I plan to ask Raven to marry me," Tai said boldly. "I don't want to get married right away, but after graduation."

This made Qrow slow down, and the other two fell into stride with him. "Ah," was all he said. He had imagined this conversation happening once or twice in the past, but it still shocked him to hear it.

"I mean, if she says yes, that is," Tai continued to mumble. "Do I have your blessing?"

"Sure. You two hide in your room all day, you may as well be married already." Qrow laughed, unable to completely process his feelings. For whatever reason, his eyes fell on Summer, curious as to how she felt about this new development. She bobbed along, as cheerful as ever, but Qrow couldn't help but feel uneasy. In fact, anticipating Raven's reaction made him uneasy as well.

"When will you ask her?" asked Qrow.

Tai shrugged. "Haven't planned that far ahead."

The scroll rang then, and Summer pulled it from her pocket. "Oz sent a message," Summer reported. They gathered together, eyes pouring over the bright screen.

"Guess we have plans tomorrow, too," joked Tai.


	29. Chapter 29

A/N: I've been listening to the Violet Evergarden OST a ton, and specifically listened to "The Ultimate Price" on repeat while writing this. If you want, give it a listen while you read :)

Chapter 29: A Return

Raven called out, but realized with fright that her voice had gone. All that remained was a hoarse croak, a reminder of how parched she was and how much yelling she had done in the past days. "Qrow!" she said feebly. She couldn't see her brother, and she felt no connection to him at all. She shrunk back inside the cage they had her in. Around her, she could hear fires crackling, restless horses whinnying, and the conversations of men.

One of the men dragged his club along the bars of the cage, a steady _dun dun dun dun_ reverberating in her ears. He peered inside, looking to see what creature was hiding from him. Raven shrunk back further, but there was nowhere to hide. "Aye, Jonas, where's the keys?" asked the man peering in. Raven felt dread. As much as she had been wishing to be freed from this cage, now she hoped to remain inside of it.

Raven woke with a start, sweating despite the chilly desert air. She checked the clock, surprised to find it was past two in the morning and the room was still empty. Tai, Summer, and Qrow should have returned from whatever godforsaken mission they went on for Oz by now. She stood to open the window and let some air in the stuffy room. She spotted her three teammates coming up the drive, laughing about something together.

She crept back into bed and pretended to be asleep at they came in. They attempted to be quiet in consideration for her, but Raven realized quickly that they were drunk and their whispers grew louder and louder. Eventually, Tai plopped down onto Raven's mattress. "Go upstairs," she moaned. "You have a whole bed of your own." It was Tai's house after all. There was no reason for him to sleep in the living room.

Naturally, Tai did not listen to reason, and fell asleep promptly beside Raven. She waited for Qrow and Summer to settle before she relaxed again. She wasn't sure why she was so agitated. She didn't want to go with them - not on 'missions', and not to the bar, but she still felt left out. What she wanted was for them to focus and be as serious as she was. They needed to think about their lives after Beacon, after all.

…...

"Have you thought about your life after Beacon?" asked Ozpin.

Raven sighed, annoyed that she was even in this situation. "Miss Branwen, Professor Ozpin would like a word," Q had told her as she walked into the dining hall her first night back. Now, here she was, alone in this tower of gears with the strange headmaster, while her teammates delved into dinner. Summer and Tai had offered to come along, of course, and even Qrow looked curious, but she decided to go alone. She couldn't even explain to herself why. She crossed her legs as she sat on the small sofa before Ozpin's desk.

"My life after Beacon…" she said quietly, her voice hoarse after not speaking for quite a while. "I suppose not."

Ozpin stood, his coffee mug in hand, and turned to look out the large window behind his desk. It was just after dusk, and an indigo color spread through the sky. He sighed. "I've been told you do not enjoy the transformation."

Raven looked up at the headmaster, but could only see the back of his head. She supposed it didn't matter. Even if she could see his face, he would be wearing that damned placid expression he always wore, a mild face that disguised the clockwork turning in his mind. "It's unpleasant," she said. "You never said you were going to turn us into birds. I didn't agree to that."

Ozpin turned back towards her, as if he was going to say something, but closed his mouth without a word. "I admit," he said at last, "That I was impulsive that night. I was drunk with the possibilities of magic, and your brother and you were the first I'd seen in some time with such potential."

Raven considered making a sarcastic comment about how rare it was so see Ozpin admit he was wrong, but she decided it was smarter to keep her mouth shut. "I suppose I'll stick with the others, take on some jobs," she said, changing the conversation back to its original path and away from the unpleasant business of birds.

Ozpin finally moved back to his desk. "Not going to fly home?" he asked.

Raven nearly laughed. Aside from the bird pun, this was the more direct question Ozpin had ever spoken to her. She understood the implications immediately. _Our side? Or theirs?_ "They're not your enemies," she said calmly. "But I don't think I'll go back after graduation."

Ozpin fumbled with some papers on his desk. "It's not about the tribe," Ozpin said. "It's about _you._ " His narrow eyes gazed into hers. "There is a fight, may I even say _war_ , against Salem and the Creatures of Grimm. We need all of the allies we can get, for the sake of Remnant as a whole."

Raven smirked a little, uncrossing her legs. "That's it then?" she asked. "I'm _useful_ to you. I understand now." She stood up to leave. "One last question. Qrow _wants_ to do this work. Why didn't you bring him here instead?" She paused, considering. "Well, I suppose I see the point. I need more persuasion. Hm. Well, I'll think it over. Goodnight, Professor Ozpin."

"It's not that!" Ozpin said to Raven's retreating form. Raven turned around, intrigued enough to allow Ozpin one more entreaty. "Have you ever heard the tale of the Four Maidens?"

Raven returned to the dormitory room from the clock tower. She was hungry, but not enough to bear the social interaction the dining hall required. She trekked up the stairs of the dorm, surprised to hear the voices of her teammates from the stairwell. Perhaps she had been with Ozpin longer than she assumed.

She opened the door into the corridor, and spotted Taiyang's blonde hair among the students gathered in the common room. "Finally!" called Talia, grabbing Raven's hand and dragging her into the room.

"Happy birthday!" shouted the dozen or so people gathered, throwing confetti on her and Qrow.

"We've been waiting to cut the cake," explained Summer. "Thankfully there was enough alcohol to keep everyone entertained until you came back."

"But… it's not my birthday?" Raven was genuinely confused as she watched her classmates cut and distribute the cake, toss back shots, and dance to loud music.

Summer looked at Raven in concern. "I realized we had never celebrated your birthday or Qrow's birthday all these years, and Qrow said it was because it fell on the first week of school, so you didn't want to bother us with it."

"I…" Raven caught Qrow's wink as he tipped back his bottle of whiskey. He was as clueless as she was when it came to their birthdays. They weren't celebrated in the tribe. "Thank you, Summer. And thank you, Tai," she said. "Now let me have a-"

"Shot? You got it!" said Tai, slipping the tiny glass into her hand.

"I was going to say cake, but why not?"

Raven ate the cake, sipping a glass of champagne. Tai was showing off a new magic trick he learned, and Summer was deep in conversation with Barty about something nerdy. Raven could feel her brother's curious gaze on her as she tipped back a first, second, and third shot. _Why are you drinking? You hate drinking. What did Oz have to say?_ She could hear these questions asked in his growling voice. Or maybe she had more to drink than she thought, and he was actually asking her those questions.

"I need air," she said, knowing without looking that her brother was beside her.

They walked down the stairs into the quad, looking up at the disco ball reflecting lights from the upper floor's common room onto the lush lawn. "Happy birthday!" she said sarcastically.

"Any excuse to celebrate," said Qrow.

Raven turned to face her brother, confused as to why she was looking up to speak with him. Perhaps she needed to be drunk to make the connection, but she saw clearly for the first time how much he had grown. "You've gotten tall," she said, noticing how he had several inches on her in height. He also had a scattering of stubble on his face that seemed to cement the transition from boy to man.

"Where is this coming from?" he asked, reaching for his ever-present hip flask.

"I never noticed. Or, well, I guess I _noticed,_ but I never thought about it much until now. You barely had an inch on me when we started here."

"Nah, I was always taller, your hair just stuck up more back then."

Annoyed, she snatched the flask from his hand and took a sip. "Easy, or you're going to be feeling that during class tomorrow. What's got you aiming for oblivion anyways?" Qrow took the flask back.

"Nothing. I don't know."

"Heyyy! You snuck out of your own birthday party!" Taiyang crashed down the steps, hanging off of Qrow as he put his arm around Qrow's shoulders. Qrow shot Raven a glance as if to say _this discussion is not over,_ and turned back to Tai.

"Here," said Summer, handing Raven a jacket. "Tai and I thought we should walk down to the docks. There was a rumor about fireworks."

"Yeah, alright," agreed Raven, worrying suddenly that her words might be slurring.

"Mr. and Miss Branwen, Mr. Xiao Long, Miss Rose!" called a shrill voice from the direction of the academic buildings.

"Hey, Grey!" called Tai, cheerfully. Summer punched him in the arm. "Ow! What was that f- oh yeah, _Miss Grey_!"

Grey moved closer, apparently not appeased by Tai's correction. "That is _Professor_ to you, Taiyang. Additionally, I do understand you are of age, but alcohol is strictly prohibited in the dormitories and in public spaces on campus!"

Qrow tried to subtly tuck in his flask, while Summer hid a bottle of peppermint schnapps in her cape.

"And Miss Branwen, I can smell your breath from here. All of you, two nights of detention. And let's make them next Friday and Saturday night."

Grey disappeared once again, and Tai began laughing. "It's not funny," moaned Qrow. The first weekend of the semester, all the best parties, and we'll be scrubbing floors or whatever she decides is our punishment all night."

"It _is_ funny," said Summer. "What kind of start to the semester would it be if we didn't get a detention?"

Raven was falling behind Summer and Qrow, who were playfully arguing while they continued drinking. Raven felt herself stumble on a crack in the road. Tai was beside her, and stuck his arm through hers, walking beside her on the slope down to the docks. "Are you ok?" he asked.

She could feel her right hand shaking, a nostalgic sensation. She was glad Tai was on her left. "I'm fine," she said. "I've just been doing some thinking. And, well, I'm celebrating my birthday."

"It's not your birthday, is it?" he asked.

"Almost definitely not."

"Well, happy birthday anyway," he said, pulling her face towards his and kissing her deeply. There was no one around on the streets of Vale, but the affection was enough to make her blush. She supposed she was likely already red from the alcohol, so it didn't make much difference. Her inhibition lessened, she sidled along with Tai down to the docks, watching his face light up with emotion and reflect deep colors as he watched the fireworks take off.


End file.
